


Johnny's Fifth (and final) Partner

by Daisy1600



Category: Lucha Underground
Genre: And also the captain of the precinct, Cop AU, Johnny has the hots for Poom, Konnan hates Johnny's guts, Konnan is Puma's dad, M/M, PJ is Johnny's brother, Police officers, Puma and Johnny are partners, and doesn't understand him!, buddy-cops, like a raging crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-11-19 07:43:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 47,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11308848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daisy1600/pseuds/Daisy1600
Summary: Trevor -or Puma- has just graduated the police training academy and is supposed to start up at the Boyle Heights City Police Department where his father Konnan is the captain of the precinct.Said captain is forced to pair his son up with a cop whom he despises with a burning passion; Johnny Mundo. And once Trevor gets past all his prejudices about the man that were implanted in his mind by his father, he kinda starts to warm up to him a little..





	1. Balls And Alcohol

It was the third ball the Boyle Heights Police Department -or BHPD for short- was holding that year, and Trevor, the captain of the precincts son, was being forced to attend it once again. For the third time that year. Much like he's been having to go to them for the last ten years of his life. And now it's even more important for him to attend since he's in the police training academy and all. But that didn't mean he'd have to like it.. God, he still remembers the first event he'd attended earlier in the year...

_'Twas early march when Trevor attended the first BHPD ball of the year. He was feeling awful due to having a bad cold that had his throat so sore he could barley speak. He'd hoarsely begged his father Konnan to let him miss out on the event so that he could stay home and sleep, but the middle-aged man told him very sternly that he was to attend, due to him being the police precinct captains son, and because he was enrolled in the police training academy. He needed to familiarize himself with the other police officers, maybe even make a few buddies, y'know? He'd be graduating by the end of the year, possibly around December, if he's lucky._

_So now here he was, sick as a dog and standing by a large rectangular table with a nice red cloth on it, trying his best not to spill the many flutes of what he assumed was champagne that were balanced atop it as he picked one up. He somehow managed to succeed in not soiling the nice table cloth, smiling to himself in victory before he broke out into a slight cough._

_He suddenly felt an arm around his back and jumped a little, his heart rate skyrocketing until he turned to look at who it was and realized that it was only his father._

_"Listen, Trevor, you see that guy over there with the long hair?" Konnan said, pointing at a handsome man wearing a leather jacket and tight-fitted jeans._

_Trevor nodded and took a long sip of his drink as he waited for his father to continue._

_"Well that's Johnny Mundo." His father gagged on the mans name, almost as it physically hurt him to say it._

_"And?.." Trevor croaked out, coughing slightly._

_"And he's a disgusting pig you should not waste your breath or words on. He constantly hits on every living thing he comes into contact with, and has been through three patrol partners already, he's constantly getting on my nerves- and even asks about you when he sees pictures of you in my office!" Konnan finished his rant with a loud sigh, trying to get his erratic breathing under control as he squeezed his son's shoulder._

_Trevor, slightly worried about his fathers health at this point, merely nodded in affirmation and moved around a little until he escaped the older mans hold._

_"I'm, uh.." Konnan rubbed a hand across his face and sighed. "Sorry about that, its just.. you're my son, and that _gringo_ may come after you, try to woo you with his false charm, and.. I just wanted you to be prepared and save your voice on someone who's worth it, okay?" _

_Trevor was a little confused about his fathers strange behavior, but again nodded and took another long sip of his drink._

_"Okay, mijo. Again, I'm sorry if I frightened you."_

_"It's fine, dad." Trevor replied hoarsely, a little smile on his face._

_"If you say so, Trevy. Have fun." Konnan gave his son a one-armed hug before making his way through a crowd of people and finding himself in a pleasant conversation with one of his officers._

_He finished off his flute of champagne and set his empty one down, making a grab for a second one when a he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. His fingers wrapped around the delicate glass, bringing it to his lips when suddenly he heard a completely unfamiliar voice address him._

_"Well, if it isn't _the_ Trevor I've heard so much about. God, you're even more handsome in person, I must say." The handsome man with the long hair, said. Trevor suddenly realized that it was _the_ Johnny Mundo, the sleazy guy his father had just warned him about not two minutes prior. _

_"Uh, sorry- I should really introduce myself. I'm Johnny M-" he was cut off by liquid being splashed in his face, dripping down and getting caught in his stubble, the hair catching it momentarily until it slowly dripped down onto his nice white shirt._

_Trevor hadn't even realized he'd done that until it already happened, and Johnny was wiping champagne out of his eyes. He gaped at the mess in front of him and felt like a complete moron. His father said to not speak to the guy- he didn't tell him to splash his drink in his face! He kept quite, not saying a word as he quickly walked away from the man in search of a napkin, soon coming back with one only to hear the tail end of a conversation Mundo was having with a colleague who looked a _lot_ like him, with long dark brown hair and a slight beard going on._

_"I know right? He totally likes me!" Is what Johnny said to his friend as Trevor arrived. He rolled his eyes and threw the napkin at the long-haired mans chest, walking off and not once looking back as he exited the building the party was being held in and called himself an Über to take him home to his apartment._

Back in present time, Trevor tried not to look at Mundo, who was standing less than ten feet across the room from him, as he got flashbacks from their second meeting in June when the older man approached him asking for an explanation as to why exactly he splashed his drink in his face. He wasn't angry when he asked the question, but more, mmm, curious. 

_The semi-formal event was being held outdoors this time since it was so 'beautiful' outside, as Trevor's father Konnan would say. But he disagreed. It was blistering hot out and he felt as If he were physically melting. Put all that together and you've got yourself a very unhappy camper._

_He was sitting alone at a small white table with his drink is hand, eyes watching everyone walk past and start up conversations with each other. Most of them were likely good friends, seeing as they hugged and smiled politely at one another. Trevor didn't have many friends at the precinct due to him not actually working there yet, and him being at least seven years younger than everybody else._

_Heck, he wasn't even sure if working at the same precinct as his father was too good of an idea. I mean, would it be too weird being in close quarters with the man after he moved out of his home quite a few years ago? Would it cause an outrage around the place, the captains son so easily getting a job when everyone else had to go through the whole process? He sighed to himself, taking a long swig of his fruity cocktail with a little umbrella in it._

_He glanced above the brim of the glass he was sipping from to see none other than Johnny Mundo take a seat directly in front on him. He was about to ask what he could possibly do to help the older man when Mundo opened his own trap and said what needed to be said._

_"Why'd you splash your drink in my face at the last ball?" The mans head was cocked to the side in question. And just as Trevor was about to reply, Mundo reached forward to take the small glass of pink liquid from his hand and down the whole thing himself before setting the glass down very gently._

_The whole scene reminded him of what his father had told him just a few short months ago at the last ball. Johnny Mundo was sleazy, arrogant, and hit on anything that looked to be breathing._

_So he turned his head away from the older man with a little huff._

_"Not gonna tell me, huh?" Johnny said, smirking and leaning his body across the table until they were a _lot_ closer than they were just moments before. _

_A rosy blush crept its way up Trevor's half-unbuttoned white dress shirt and he just couldn't, for the life of him, look Mundo in the eye as he nodded shakily._

_"Why not? Nervous?" The long haired man continued to smirk as he scooted his chair until he was sitting right beside him, arm slung over the back of his chair._

_**Don't waste your breath or words on him, Trevor.** said a stern voice in his head._

_"Do I make you nervous, Trevy?"_

_Trevor was about to crack and finally say something when Mundo all of a sudden stood up and went around to the back of his chair, hands resting on his shoulders, and lips mere inches away from his ear as he spoke his next words._

_"I'll get you to talk to me one day, Trevy. Just you wait and see. Unless of course, you can't.. Wow, I never even thought of that and now I feel like a bit of an ass.. sorry."_

_Johnny fled before Trevor could even finish formulating a response in his head. Did Johnny seriously just do all of that? And what was that last part about? Did he really think he couldn't talk?.. I mean, it's sweet that he felt bad about it, cause there's people out there who can't talk, but Trevor could. And so it began to bother him the slightest bit for the next few hours._

Back in present time, Trevor watched Mundo's every move as the older man weaved his way through a sea of people, coming closer and closer to him with every step he took. And when he was a measly three feet away from where Trevor was stationed by a large Santa clause decoration, he downed the rest of his eggnog and set it on a nearby tray one of the caterers for the ball was carrying.

Just so he wouldn't splash his drink in the mans face again, Trevor downed the rest of his festive alcoholic drink and held the small glass tightly in his hand as the other man made the last few feet, bridging the distance between them. 

Trevor stared head-on as taller man lifted his hands to about chest height and began making weird signs that looked to be gang related. Hey, he's been on ride-alongs before, he knows what gang-signs are, and what.. some of them mean. 

What he _didn't_ understand was what on god's green earth Mundo was trying to convey to an almost-graduated cop! And the -dare he say nervous?- look on his face when he finished making weird signs at him confused him even further. So he frowned at the man and tried not to stutter as he voiced his question, the first word he's ever spoke in his presence. 

"Dude, are those **gang signs?** " 

Trevor watched as Johnny's mouth fell agape at the absurd question, his mouth opening and closing for a few long moments until he could form a cohesive sentence. 

"I-I.. uh.. wait, **YOU CAN TALK?!** " He exclaimed -well, shouted-, stumbling backwards a couple of feet before catching his balance and staring at Trevor with the look of horror written all over his face. 

Trevor turned to his left where there was a waist-high table with drinks laid out, and setting down his empty glass before grabbing a new one. He just held the new glass full of eggnog in his hand, swishing it around as he cocked his head to the side at the man who he now thinks is completely bonkers. 

"Yeah," he took a long sip of his drink, "what.. what made you think I couldn't?..." 

"I.. You..." Johnny trailed off, nervously scratching at the back of his neck and making direct eye contact with the floor as he spoke. "Because... because you've never spoken a word to me.. or in front of me, for that matter.."

He looked confused, nervous, and all around very un-Johnny-like. He was usually -well, at least the first two times Trevor had met him- very confident and dominant, but in that moment he looked.. lost. Like he was really embarrassed and small. It made it seem like he wasn't a whopping six-foot-one, but rather a little kid who just got denied a fancy new toy at the store by his parent. 

"You.. Well, first off, I was horribly sick with a sore throat the first time-"

"When you splashed your drink in my face-" Mundo said, cutting him off. 

"- _And_ I couldn't speak without it hurting _a lot_." he narrowed his eyes at Mundo's little interruption. "And I didn't say anything last time because you kept interrupting me when I was about to speak. Or you just plain.. confused me at times." 

"So I learned ASL for nothing, huh?" Johnny muttered to himself, though Trevor still heard every word. Every mind-boggling word.. 

"You _what?_ " 

"I.." he hesitated a moment, tangling his fingers in his long locks of hair and tugging slightly before continuing. "I kinda learned sign language to communicate with you because I thought you couldn't.. well, you know, _talk_. And now I feel like a big idiot." 

At the big revelation, Trevor felt many different emotions at once. There was confusion, embarrassment, weirded-outness, but most of all, flattery. 

He wasn't all that well-versed on the subject of sign language, but what he _did_ know was that it couldn't have been all that easy for someone to learn it. Especially not in a measly six-months. So, yes, he was flattered. 

"You.. That's sweet and all, John, but why was me being -for lack of better term- mute rather than, I don't know, shy? your first conclusion?" 

"I don't know.." Johnny sighed, eyes cast at the ground which caused the fuzzy white ball on the end of his Santa hat to him in the face and make Trevor giggle a little, effectively lightening the slightly tense atmosphere. "Probably cause you made alright eye-contact, but just didn't talk at all."

The corner of Trevor's mouth quirked up into a little half-smile just before he downed the rest of his drink and set down his empty glass beside the other one from earlier. "Really? Cause I thought I had really crappy eye-contact.. God, you really learned sign language for me?"

Johnny nodded, then gestured toward a small table a few feet off using his head. Trevor shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'why not?' before following Mundo in taking a seat across from him at the vacant circular object. 

"I guess.. I mean, I'm not very good at it, but I kinda got the hang of it. Sorta." Mundo said, staring down at the festive table cloth with little white sparkly snowflakes scattered all across the light blue background. 

"Show me." Trevor said before elaborating. "Uh, the sign language, I mean. Spell my name." 

Johnny let out a long breath that ended up trailing off into a breathy chuckle, and words that sounded a lot like 'I need a drink' slipped past his lips. 

"Uh, yeah. Sure, why not?" He lifted his hands above the table and signed Trevor's name. The younger man could hardly process the quick motions and asked him to repeat them, this time paying a lot closer attention. 

"That's.. that's actually pretty cool, man." Trevor smiled, and for a moment, forgot any and all prejudices he had against Mundo. 

"Thanks.. Even if what I did was a bit... yeah." Now it was Johnny's turn to smile as a deep shade of red climbed up the collar of his white-button up that was _at least_ a quarter of the way -possibly even half- unbuttoned, exposing the smooth planes of his defined chest. Which was starting to become a bit distracting as the alcohol began its descent into Trevor's bloodstream. 

"Yeah, just a tad bit creepy is all." 

"Nothing major." As Johnny finished his sentence, Trevor felt his eyes on him, and saw the mans Adam's apple bob up and down in his throat. He felt his own throat go dry at the action, and swallowed harshly to try and alleviate some of the discomfort the onslaught of dryness had brought on. 

He momentarily ripped his gaze away from Mundo to do a quick sweep of the room, eyes landing on his father, and seeing that he was in a conversation with a couple of guys from the precinct. Better get up soon and socialize a bit, seeing as Konnan wouldn't be too pleased to hear his son was holed up at a table with the devil himself; Johnny Mundo.

"I gotta.." he hesitated a moment, breathing deeply. "I gotta head over to my dad and ' _socialize_ ' with strangers, as he'd say, but it wasn't.. horrible talking to you, John." He finished with a small smile. 

Johnny laughed, but couldn't help looking the slightest bit offended at the others words. Though Trevor's Rudolph the red nosed reindeer antler headband did help in taking the edge off the non-insult to his character. 

"Your dad talks about me a lot, doesn't he?" 

"Don't go getting a big head or anything, but you're the topic of most of our phone calls, and father-son dinner dates." Trevor said as he got up from his seat at the table on slightly shaky legs. 

"Huh, it's good to know he's spreading lies about me even when he's not at work." Johnny mumbled sardonically. "Guess I'll see you around, Trev?" 

Trevor nodded slowly, remembering that his graduation from the police training academy was just next week, and then come January, he'd be stationed at the same precinct as Johnny, and his father. 

"Guess you will," he said before turning away from the older man and grabbing his third glass of eggnog off the nearby drink table, about to make his way over to his father, but momentarily stopping in his tracks when he heard Mundo's voice again, only this time it was soft and gentle. So much so that he probably wasn't supposed to hear it at all, but he did. 

"Until then.." 

Trevor breathed deeply, lifting one foot and taking a step, then repeating the process until he was moving, taking long, purposeful strides toward his father as he gulped down his drink and set the empty glass atop a passing waiters tray and grabbing another. 

He spent the rest of he night by his fathers side, not once catching another glimpse of Mundo as he acquainted himself with his soon-to-be fellow police officers from the station. Though, for all he knew, the guy could've left after their encounter earlier in the evening. 

Trevor knew for a _fact_ that he would've hauled ass for sure if he were in the other mans shoes.


	2. A Diner And A Dingle

Trevor blew warm air onto his hands that were wrapped around a hot cup of cocoa, eyes glancing up every now and then and hoping to see his father enter the diner soon. 

It was supposed to be just another one of their special father-son dinner dates that he enjoyed quite a lot, but his old man had texted him over a half  
hour ago saying he'd been held up at work for 'Mundo related problems', and would try his best to beat the traffic and get there within the hour. 

Great, it was Christmas Eve, only a few short days after his graduation from the police training academy, and his dad was holed up at work, then in traffic... And it was all that long-haired, slightly-creepy, handsome mans fault! And boy, would Trevor be hearing all about it when his father arrived- and speak of the devil, Konnan picked that exact moment to enter the diner, glasses-clad eyes immediately landing on his son just before he took long strides to get over to him. 

"Aye, sorry I'm late, mijo. It's all _Mundo's_ fault." He said, practically gagging on the mans name as he stripped his long coat off and placed it on the back of the vacant seat across from his son before sitting down on it. He then unwrapped the yellow scarf from around his neck Trevor had gifted him last Christmas, and dove right into his rant on why he hates Mundo so much, as well as why he was so damn late. Though, now that he thought about it, they're essentially the same thing. 

Trevor, curious and wanting to know all about what the guy did to him piss off his father on Christmas Eve, elected to ignore how truly late the older man was, and instead ask him what happened. "Oh no, dad, what'd he do this time?" he couldn't help but let a small smile break out on his face as the older man glared at nothing in particular and dove right into the story. 

"That _gringo_ lost yet another another partner! I was having a not-awful evening, you know, getting ready to visit my special boy for our father-son dinner date when that- that _idiota_ comes into _my_ office-" he took a breather, grabbing his son's hot chocolate, taking a long swig of the scalding hot liquid and nearly burning his tongue in the process. 

"- and decided that the best way to start off telling me that his new partner up and quit was to congratulate me on you graduating from the academy! That- that _gringo_ took one look at your new photo I'd honorably hung on my wall the other day, and said all that! Even going so far as to- as to.." Konnan swallowed what looked to be bile coming up his throat, a clenched fist pressed against his pursed lips. 

"As to what?.." Trevor asked, wondering what else Mundo had said about him. What? Couldn't blame the kid for being a little curious, even if the guy weirded him out a little bit. 

Konnan swallowed the lump in his throat, shaking his head from side to side as he actively avoided his son's eyes. 

"Dad," Trevor whined, pouting at his father. 

"No, Trevy. You're far too innocent for Mundo's vile words to taint you so early on in your life." 

That made Trevor all the more interested in what Mundo had to say about him. Was it really _that_ bad that his father couldn't even repeat it? 

"Dad, I'm twenty-seven," 

"See! Young." Konnan crossed his arms, still just sitting there, silently fuming. 

His father was a stubborn man, so Trevor continued to pout and make sad puppy-dog eyes at the older man for quite a while until he began to slowly crack. 

"I'm not saying it out loud." Konnan mumbled, arms crossed and lips pressed together tightly.  
Which in turn drew out a long sigh from his pouty son. His son who was now leaning part way across the table to study his embarrassed and aged features. 

"What? Did he call me sexy or something?" 

Konnan actually brought his fist down on the table **hard** , causing most of the hot chocolate to spill on his hand. His teeth were sunk deep into his bottom lip to keep him from screaming in pain, and in the name of god. 

Trevor quickly scrambled to get him a napkin and lightly dab at his angry-red hand. 

"He-" the man sighed loudly, eyes falling shut as he confessed Mundo's sins. "He called you.. handsome. And spoke about how great a guy you are, and about how.. how he's looking forward to working at the same precinct as you. It was gross, him kissing up to me, and coming onto you. So I yelled at him to get out of my office- and that's when he finally broke the news to me that one of my best guys quit!" 

He was frozen in shock at the revelation. I mean, Mundo'd basically told him the same things when they.. conversed? at the last couple of balls the station held. So why was he so surprised?.. 

"Did he..." he trailed off, reminding himself that talking about the 'sleazy' police officer's supposed attraction to him wasn't the best idea. It'd only further upset his father. He sighed softly before asking his revised question. "Which one quit?" 

"Alberto!" 

"Who?.." his son questioned, totally at a loss as to who the hell _that_ was. His father usually spoke a lot about his best officers, and he'd like to believe he would've remembered a name like _that_. 

Konnan sighed, rubbing a hand across his tired face. "Berto. You know, the guy who came to last years halloween party dressed as-" 

"Oh! Yeah, Berto. I remember him. The guy who decided going dressed as a pant-less cowboy was a good idea.." 

"No, no, that was-"

"Texano! Right?" 

"Ick, I can't stand that guy." Konnan stuck out his tongue, making loud and over exaggerated gagging sounds, which made Trevor laugh and smile. Konnan relished the sound for a good minute before getting things back on track. 

"Anyway, back to what I was talking about earlier. Mundo. Yeah, he's disgusting. I mean, the guys got great taste, but **no one** is good enough for my little Trevy." 

Konnan's 'little Trevy' rolled his eyes at him and flagged down a waitress. "See, dad, this is why I am single and will be for the rest of my life." 

"Why? Because men are disgusting pigs?" His father said as the waitress approached their table, the pause in their conversation being the perfect opportunity for her to take their orders. They waited until she was out of earshot to continue their conversation. 

"No, it's because you do _this_ -" he gestured at his father using his hand. "-every time I mention one!" Trevor soon calmed himself down enough to stop glaring at the fifty-something year old man sitting across from him. 

"Do you-" Konnan paused, taking a moment to swallow hard and take a sip of his son's practically empty cup of hot chocolate. "Do you.. _like_ Mundo? That disgusting pig of a human b-" 

"No! Of course not!" Trevor got out in a hurry, trying hard to hide the rosy glow on his cheeks using the over-sized sleeves of his ugly Christmas sweater. "I was just.. I was making an example. And he's not.. he's not nearly as bad as you say he is." 

Konnan's face changed from 'I'm gonna hurl' to 'I'm gonna kill him' in point three seconds flat. "And how exactly would _you_ know that, Trevy?" The man shifted around in his seat, his hard stare trained on his seemingly embarrassed son. 

"I.." he sighed, "Y'know what, dad? It's not even important. Let's just.. just eat." 

"We don't have any foot yet, Trevy." Konnan said, twiddling his thumbs together on top of the table and not looking his son in the eye. 

"I _know_." Trevor sat there, face flushed from anger? Embarrassment? He couldn't tell the difference himself. His father disapproves of any guy he's ever considered attractive, and boy is he getting sick of it. He didn't get a boyfriend till college, and when he _did_ his father had driven all the way to campus to threaten the guy with a nightstick. Let's just say things didn't last too long after that. 

"So... were you two, like," Konnan paused to swallow the lump of bile that'd clawed its way up his throat. " _hanging out_ or something recently?.." 

Trevor rolled his eyes, foot tapping against the linoleum floor. "No, dad. We just- He talked to me at the last ball the station held, is all." 

"Mhmm," his father hummed thoughtfully. "That all he did? You sure he didn't try to come onto you? Maybe even ask you-" 

"No. We had a conversation, and that is all it was." Trevor said, defensive as ever. Which made his father _very_ skeptical. 

"Well, if you say that was all that happened.. then I guess I don't have to kill him next time I see him. Maybe the next, next time- but not next time." 

"Thank you," Trevor rolled his eyes once again, fed up with his father's attitude and over-protectiveness. "Now just- I don't know, be quiet? Please?" 

"Yeah, I'll play your game, mijo." 

They soon got their meals and dug in, Konnan only bringing up Johnny Mundo about eight more times. Which was a lot less than he usually did, so he gets points for that. 

-

Since Konnan had been so darn nosy, and pried into his son's non-existent love life throughout the entire meal, he'd promised to take him out for ice cream as a little apology of sorts. 

He politely held the door of the ice cream shop open for his son, allowing him to pass through first before following him. "Get whatever you like, mijo. It's my treat." He sent a sweet smile Trevor's way, hoping to get back on his good side. 

"I'm still annoyed with you," Trevor muttered, arms crossed as he approached the glass counter in which the many different flavors of ice cream were displayed. 

"If it makes you feel any better, we could always visit a couple of shops after this."

Trevor finally looked his father's way, expression less annoyed than it was earlier, though still a bit cloudy. He was still.. mmm, unhappy with his old-man. "That sounds doable, father." 

"Ick, you sound all posh when you talk like that." Konnan groused. 

That's just how Trevor spoke to his father when he was unhappy with him. Mainly cause he knew it annoyed the heck out of him. 

"I want.. pistachio." He finally decided on after humming and tapping his chin with his finger for a full minute. 

"Double ick. I'm getting mocha, cause I have tastebuds." Konnan said, flagging down an employee wearing a blue visor to take their order. Why would a company force their workers to wear hats indoors? It's ridiculous! 

After getting their ice cream, they decided that the best course of action was to get some very last-minute shopping done. Maybe get a little something for a few of the officers down at the station. 

"You wanna go in there?" His father said, eyes narrowing at the Starbucks building. Trevor stood there looking at him with a hand on his hip, eyes switching between the mainstream coffee shop and his father. 

"You owe me a new hot chocolate, remember, dad?" 

"Fine, fine. But you have to carry the bags."

"Uh, okay?" Trevor said before he was handed about six shopping bags that nearly made him tip over before his cat-like reflexes kicked in and he managed to catch himself on the door frame just before his father opened the door and allowed him to step inside the building before him. 

After they'd stepped inside and looked at what different kinds of cookies and scones they had in the display counter for a good three minutes, someone finally asked if they could help them. 

"Uh... Eh, mijo, what do ya want? Peppermint hot chocolate?" His father asked, fully expecting to get a nod in response, and not the scrunched up face of disgust he received. Great, now he's embarrassing his old-man in front of the barista. 

"No thanks.. I think I'll just get a hot chocolate, please." His son replied, smiling slightly as he made eye contact with the barista. Huh, looks like he must've felt the slightest bit of remorse for his ill-mannered reaction to the thought of having to choke down 16 ounces of peppermint hot chocolate. 

"That's.. better, Trevy. But next time, just.. just start out by _not_ actively trying to embarrass me, eh?" Konnan said before ordering a large hot chocolate for his son who he now believes is ten-years old. Hm, maybe Christmas brought out that side of him. The side that's less than half his actual age. 

After he'd gotten the hot drink and took half of the bags away from his son, Konnan, again, got the door for his Trevy. Even though his son had asked about three times already if he could just drink it in the store.. And just as the door opened, they came face-to-face with three.. well, two, familiar faces. 

"Trevor?" Johnny breathed out, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He was wearing the ugliest ugly Christmas sweater known to man, but he somehow managed to make it work. "I mean.. Hey, boss.. Merry Christ-" the long haired man was cut off mid-sentence by Trevor's disgruntled father.

"Ick, outta my way Mundo. See ya 'round Evans, Black." The old man said as he passed by Johnny's two buddies. He thought his son would follow him out like the good little boy he is, but he instead found that the he was still just standing there, gaping up at Mundo. He sighed loudly and clapped a hand down on his son's shoulder, hoping to break him out of his reverie. 

"Trevor!" He ground out, finally getting his son to look his way, still looking a little out of sorts. 

"Mm, yeah?" His son mumbled in reply, still distracted by the man standing before him. 

"Let's _go_." 

"Uh.. could I maybe stay for a minute?" Trevor knew it was a terrible idea, but he'd said it anyway. Maybe he was just.. a little curious about what the guy had to say about him to his father at work earlier in the day. 

Konnan narrowed his eyes at Mundo, hand reaching out to grab the shopping bags from his son. "I'll wait outside. And don't take too long. Don't want you getting.." the old man took a deep, steadying breath. "wooed by his false charm." he'd mumbled the last part so Mundo hadn't heard it come out of his mouth. 

Trevor nodded shakily as well as making his mouth move the slightest bit as if he were gonna respond, but in the end he shut his trap and watched his father walk out of the mainstream coffee shop. 

"Hey, I.." Mundo started, looking a bit nervous as his buddies stood on either side of him, quietly giggling into their hands like a couple of teenage girls. "I saw your graduation photo in Konnan's office today. Congrats, Trev, though I do wonder how I never knew you were even in the police training academy in the first place. Or that you'd be working at the same precinct as me." 

Trevor smiled a small smile as he stepped away from the door and walked toward a four-person table. Johnny's buddies didn't sit down, but instead whispered something in his ear that made him whisper something back at them angrily until they left him alone and got in the fairly short line. 

"It's probably because.. you know what? I don't know why my dad didn't tell you months ago, even if it would only be to brag about his 'successful son'. He's usually, uh, very proud of my accomplishments." 

Johnny sighed, leaning part of his upper body across the little table they were sat at. "Guess he must really, really hate me, then.." 

Trevor thought back about what happened at his father-son dinner date a couple of hours ago. Mundo had supposedly called him.. handsome, said he was a really great guy, and that he couldn't wait to work at the same precinct as him. His cheeks seemed to flush at the distracting thoughts, making him lift his over-sized sweater sleeves to hide the rosy glow. 

"He talks about you a lot. And how.." _you talk about me a lot_ , he thought but didn't say. 

"And how what?" Mundo asked as he leaned further onto his elbows, getting even closer to Trevor on the table.

He swallowed hard, trying his best to focus on the sparkly frosty the snowman on the long-haired police officer's sweater, but his eyes kept falling to his Adam's apple, and his mind keeps going back to when he watched it bob up and down at the Christmas ball. How his shirt was halfway unbuttoned, enough to expose the smooth planes of his defined- 

"And how.. you can't wait to work at the same precinct as me." He finally voiced his revised statement after ripping his eyes away from the other mans throat and forcing himself to look anywhere else on his body. God, what's gotten into him? He didn't even have any alcohol in his system! All he had was this.. this scalding cup of hot chocolate to fiddle with the lid of. 

The second a smirk was painted onto Mundo's face; Trevor knew he was screwed. "I think what you really meant to say was that I called you handsome." 

Trevor, needing a minute to come up with a retort, stupidly took a sip of the scalding hot chocolate and tried his best to pretend he didn't just give himself third-degree burns. He sucked in a sharp breath of air through his clenched teeth. "That's not what I was gonna s-" 

"It's okay, you can admit it, Trevy." Johnny said hand resting right beside the others warm chocolate drink. Then, after a moment of the two just sitting there watching each other's every movement, he finally grabbed it, bringing it close to himself and lifting it until it was just barley touching his lips. Trevor was rendered speechless. "I mean, you must get it all the time. Surely you'd be used to it by now." 

His lips then pressed against the lip of the paper cup and he took a long swig of the brown liquid. "Ah," he sighed in delight, setting the cup back down in front of his bosses son. 

"You..." Trevor started, breathing unsteadily. "are so confusing."

Johnny smirked, getting to his feet and staring right at the other man. It took a few long moments for him to actually say anything, but when he did manage to get a few words out, it seemed.. different compared to all the other things he'd said to Trevor this night. It seemed more.. genuine? As well as more rehearsed. 

"Merry Christmas, Trevor. I hope you have a.. a good, uh.. couple of weeks before you start working at the station." The long-haired mans smirk slowly fell from his face, soon turning into a small, genuine smile that Trevor couldn't help but return. 

"Yeah, yeah.." Trevor was still confused as hell over Johnny's sudden shift in mood, but decided to go along with it. "you too, Mundo. You too." 

"Drive safe," The older said, eyeing his oversized, ugly-reindeer Christmas sweater. 

"I'll, uh.. I'll see ya at work, I guess." As Trevor stood from his seat with his soiled drink in hand, a strong hand with a soft grip around his elbow suddenly stopped him from leaving the coffee shop. 

"Wait-" Johnny started, swallowing a couple of times before saying what needed to be said. "uh, when do you, um, start working at the station?" 

He was momentarily distracted by the hand on his elbow. So much so that he couldn't for the life of him formulate an answer until Mundo finally removed it, mumbling a quiet apology. 

"Uh... January." Was Trevor's breathless reply. The taller of the two smiled, nodding his head slightly. Trevor couldn't have missed the way the genuine grin made little crinkles appear beside his eyes even if he were blind himself. 

"Until then, Trevy." 

It seems as though he really _was_ supposed to the soft spoken words this time around. Why did he say it with such a soft lilt to his typically low and smooth voice? 

He tried his best to ignore all the distracting thoughts about Mundo, including what his words made him think and feel, as he exited Starbucks with his warm drink in hand. But all the thoughts and feelings came rushing right back as soon as he saw his father sitting at a small table outside. The old man was sure to ask all about his little run-in with the devil known as Johnny Mundo. 

"Did he taint you with his disgustingness, mijo? You spent quite a while in there.." his father had a steely, guarded look in his eye. A look that could kill if directed at the right -or wrong, depending on how you look at it- person. 

"No, dad." Trevor mumbled in reply, hand involuntarily bringing the hot cup of coco closer to his chest. 

"You sure 'bout that? Cause I could walk in there right now and kill h-" 

"Dad!" Trevor groaned, bringing the cup to his lips and taking a sip without a seconds hesitation, and totally not realizing what he'd just done until it was too late. "We- we.." his eyes widened and he swallowed hard. 

"Yes?.." Konnan stood up from his seat at the outdoor table, rising up to his full height and appearing absolutely **menacing**. 

"And we.. talked. He asked me about work. When I'd start working at the station. Nothing else. So don't you go in there threatening to take away his manhood. Alright?" Trevor looked defensive, guilty, and flustered all at once. Things that his father most likely picked up on. 

Konnan closed his eyes, quietly counted to thirty, then let his shoulders sag as he let out a long breath of air. "I said at the diner that I would wait until next, next time I see Mundo to kill him, so I'll hold off for now, Trevy. But I'm still suspicious." 

The old man glanced in the coffee shop, eyes landing on Mundo and his two buddies that happened to be wearing matching ugly Christmas sweaters and leaning their heads on each other's shoulders, laughing at something the other must've said. Then he saw Mundo go red in the face and throw a balled up napkin at his dark-haired friend. 

Trevor's eyes followed those of his fathers, soon landing on the scene unfolding before them and making him very.. curious as to who those two guys Johnny was with were. He recognized the dark haired man from the first ball of the year the station held, but the lighter haired man was.. a mystery to him. 

"Who are those guys?" Trevor spoke aloud into the chilly air of a Los Angeles December. 

"Brunet is PJ, Mundo's twin brother, and the blondie is his partner, Jack." 

"So they're also cops, huh?" 

"Yes, and I think they have a.. _thing_ going on. A thing that they should _probably_ tell their boss about soon." 

"Maybe they don't wanna tell you because they don't know what they have yet, themselves." Trevor replied, eyes glancing down at the lid of his cup and remembering who's lips had touched it not five minutes ago. It's not like he hasn't shared a drink with his friends before, but rather its... strange and.. unsettling that Johnny would just take his drink on two separate occasions and, well, drink it! It's almost like they've shared two indirect kisse- 

"Ick, when you say it like that it sounds really cheesy and romantic." Konnan frowned, turning away to grab his shopping bags from the table and make his way toward his son's parked car. Trevor had stayed behind a moment. A moment long enough to see PJ and his partner Jack point behind Johnny until the latter turned to look at him standing outside the window looking like a total creep. 

He saw how red in the face Mundo was, and felt as if he would die from heatstroke if he stayed another second. So he quickly followed his father, catching up to him in a few short strides. 

Together, Konnnan and Trevor walked out to where the latter's car was parked over in the diner's lot a block or so away. 

Just before Trevor could unlock his car door, his father pulled him into a tight hug, practically squeezing the life out of him as he rocked him from side-to-side. Luckily, his hot coco was safely balanced atop the roof of his car, so there was no chance of that spilling. "Aye, mijo, I know this'll come out sounding really sappy, but.. I'm glad we're spending Christmas together, and that you'll soon be working at the station with me." 

He couldn't help but smile into his dad's shoulder at the only slightly-sappy confession. "Me too, dad." Is all he could manage to get out as he stood there feeling what felt like a hundred different emotions at once. After nuzzling his face into his daddy's shoulder for a long minute, and just enjoying the warmth radiating off the old man's body, Trevor decided to say one more thing to lighten the heavy-with-emotions atmosphere. "Though I'm really not looking forward to all the ribbing I'm gonna get for being the captain's son." 

Konnan pulled out of the hug, his aged features set into a look of determination. "If anybody -and I mean **anybody** tries messing with _my_ little Trevy-" his teeth sank deep into his bottom lip, and he had to take a long moment to cool down before continuing. "well, let's just hope they're prepared to be decapitated, or castrated. Either works for me." 

_Trevor shook his head, sighing as he grabbed his drink off the roof of his car and got in the dark yellow vehicle without another word to his overprotective father. Said father gestured for him to roll down the window, and he acquiesced, manually rolling down the old window until it was open halfway, and Trevor was flicking his wrist to alleviate the discomfort caused from having to crank the handle had brought on._

_"You really need to get a new car that isn't older than I am, mijo. See you at home." Konnan lightly patted the roof of the car a couple of times before staring toward his own car that's parked halfway across the deserted lot._

_"See ya, dad." Trevor mumbled as he pointedly set his drink in the cup holder so he wouldn't take another sip of it. It's been.. tainted? contaminated?.. graced?.... by Mundo's DNA. So there's no way he was making the mistake of ingesting _that_ again. Sharing a drink is something very personal that is typically shared between friends, or lovers. Neither of which Johnny was to him. Though they had the potential of becoming the former when Trevor starts working at the station come January._


	3. A Gag-Gift and A Police Escort

As Trevor hopped out of the shower and began his fairly short morning routine for his first day on the job, his thoughts began to slowly drift in the direction of a certain someone, and his interactions with that someone over the course of the last couple of weeks. 

_Christmas was over and done with, and Trevor thought it'd be a nice little surprise if he brought over a little muffin and coffee for his hard-working father at his place of work._

_Before he could even make a grab for the door handle of the police station, someone got it for him. It was Victor -or as most people called him, Drago- and his partner Aero exiting the building together. It seemed as though two of his father's best homicide detectives were in a big hurry to get a move on with whatever it is they were meant to do, but they stopped for a moment to give a slight wave to the captain's son. They were two of the nicest guys he knew. Plus, they were the first detectives he'd ever met that worked at the station. He remembers being a teenager -soon to be young adult- and being introduced to them in his father's office. He also couldn't help but think of how much their relationship as partners and lovers has evolved over the years. It wasn't a shock at all -okay, maybe it was a bit of a surprise, but not a shock- when his father came home one night after work and, as Trevor was knuckles deep in a heaping pile of beans, rice, and bread, decided that that was a good time to spill the hot gossip to his poor son who nearly died from food inhalation after receiving the news._

_He waved back using the hand holding the pastry bag and watched as the couple sped off toward their black car with what looked to be a warrant for someone's arrest tucked inside the back pocket of Drago's neatly ironed suit pants. Maybe one day Trevor'd get to be like them. With a badass partner helping him.. uh, stop criminals and arrest 'em too._

_He continued walking through the currently bustling building until he felt eyes trained on the back of his head and turned to look at the perpetrator. Of course it was Johnny Mundo. The man who, upon noticing Trevor's stare directed back at him, quickly stood up from his small desk and banging his knee onto the underside of it, biting his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain._

_It was their first meeting since the.. Since Christmas Eve when the copper had not sniffed, but rather taken a sip of his hot coco. He gave Mundo a nervous little half-wave then quickly continued walking toward his father's office. He rapped his knuckles against the glass door with the old man's name written on it before giving up and opening the door himself._

_"Trevor? What are you doing here, mijo?" His father questioned before his eyes fell upon the coffee cup and pastry bag in his hands._

_"Just wanted to.. drop by and say hi, I suppose." Trevor replied as he strode on over to the desk and gently set down the coffee and little white baggy containing a blueberry muffin._

_His father eyed him suspiciously as he hummed in thought. "You sure you didn't just come here to scope out the place, maybe even run into a disgusting sleaze-bag on your way over?"_

_Trevor's breath hitched and he felt as hot as the coffee he'd just set atop the neatly lacquered desk. He actively avoided his father's heavy gaze until the old man spoke up once more._

_"Know what, Trevy? I've got a nice pistol on me and I could just go out there right now and empty this magazine right into that gringo's-"_

_"Dad." Trevor warned, voice stern and holding finality as his father made a move to get up from his office chair._

_"Fine, fine." Konnan plopped back down into his swivel office chair, hands rubbing at his face for a good minute. "Did you get it black, Trev?" He asked as he popped the lid off the big cup of coffee. He was pleased to see that, _yes_ , it was indeed black. "You want all these creamers, mijo?" _

_Trevor nodded, hopping on top of a stack of documents and mugshots without a care in the world, too excited to get the little milk packets from his dad's coffee. Much like he always was.. Heh, when he was a college student he used to get coffee every once and a while though now that he thinks about it, it was usually three quarters creamer and sugar, only the last quarter being actual coffee. On average, that stuff was bitter and nasty! So he always put his own little spin on it to make it more bearable._

_Konnan didn't bat an eye at his son's childish behavior, merely handing over all ten of little cups of milk. And as Trevor downed his fifth milk cup and tossed it in the trash can behind his father, he saw what looked to be.. festive wrapping paper with something inside it. Curious, he walked toward the intriguing item and picked it out of the trash with a nearby tissue he found on the desk._

_From: Johnny Mundo  
To: KTB (or Konnan if you prefer that name)_

_"Dad.." Trevor lifted the little wrapped trinket closer to his face to further inspect it. "did you.. Did you throw this thing away without opening it?"_

_Konnan showed no outward remorse for his actions. I mean, the wrapping paper was real cute with all the little snowmen on it, so how could someone _not_ feel at least the tiniest bit bad? Apparently, his father. "Ick, didn't you read it? It's been touched and signed by the likes of Johnny Mundo. There's no way I want that _thing_ anywhere near me. For all I know, it could be cursed or something." _

_"Or it could just be a thoughtful gift from from one of your.. uh, one of your officers."_

_"Listen, and listen real good, Trevy. _Nothing_ -and I mean **nothing** \- Johnny Mundo does is without an ulterior motive. Why can't you understand that?" _

_Trevor flinched the slightest bit at his father's harsh tone of voice. He almost **never** snapped at his son. Especially if not for good reason. But this- this was just utterly ridiculous! Johnny hasn't done anything bad to him- okay, he's done slightly creepy things in his presence, and straight to his face, but that didn't mean he was a bad person. Just.. strange. And his attractiveness really helped with, um..... _toning down_ the level of how odd his interactions with Trevor is perceived by the younger. _

_"Dad..." he shut his eyes for a moment, sucking in a deep breath of air before slowly releasing it through his nose. "Why do you keep doing this? He.. he gave you a gift and you just threw it away without a seconds hesitation!" He exclaimed, hopping off the stack of papers and allowing a few to float in the air, much like a feather would, before they fell to the floor in disarrangement_

_His father ignored the mug shots and paperwork he needs to handle that'd fell to the floor to focus on the matter at hand. "Listen, mijo," he started, voice much less loud and angry this time. "I'm sorry I.. snapped at you. I just really-" he paused a moment, looking as if he were about to have an episode right then and there. " I don't want my baby getting hurt. You're all I've got."_

_Trevor felt something in the pit of his stomach at his father's words. But he needed to learn how not to be so- so _overprotective_ all the damn time! So he squashed down all feelings of regret and compassion as he carefully lifted the tape off each corner of the.. semi-neatly wrapped gift. Soon all the blue paper decorated in little snowmen was resting atop his father's desk as he feasted his eyes upon the little gimmick Johnny'd gifted the old man. _

_"#1 Boss?" Trevor mumbled to himself as he turned the little plastic and metal trophy around in his hands._

_"Ick, looks like he really _is_ kissing my ass." His father replied, looking as if he were disgusted beyond belief. Guess he does really, really hate Mundo. But that ain't exactly news to him. Or anyone else, for that matter. _

_"Or maybe he really appreciates and... possibly even likes you, dad. Not everyone that's nice to you is looking for a favor, y'know." As Trevor finished speaking, he placed the little trinket atop his father's desk. Right beside the nice sized gold plaque with his name written on it. His father glared at it and blew warm air out his nostrils much like a bull who's ready to fight the unlucky son of a gun who's waving around a red flag in the closed off arena._

_The old man did his little routine of closing his eyes and breathing heavily as he counted to thirty before he could look his son in the eye again. "Look, Trevy.. I appreciate the coffee and treat, and you coming to visit and all, but could you _please_ just stay out of mine and Mundo's feud?"_

_"I don't think that I can, but.. I'll try. Much like you should try- I don't know? Maybe being _nice_ to him for a change?" _

_"I can... um.. Maybe I could try not wanting to pistol-whip him every time I see his stupid, handsome f-" he cut himself off. "I can.. _try_ not yelling at him so much.. Wait- why are you asking me to be nice to him!? Do you _like_ him or something, mijo?... I know I asked you back at the diner and you denied it, but-" _

_"No, _father_ I do not. But at least I had the decency to give him a chance, unlike someone I know." He turned to leave his insane father's office, hearing what sounded like 'Ick, why so posh?' as he shut the glass door and began weaving his way through crowds of police officers, some leading who he assumes are criminals through the building and over to the interrogation room, as well as other officers eating food and doing paperwork. _

_He wasn't expecting it when he heard his name being called out halfway across the room, a loud crash sound following it. His head immediately turned toward the epicenter of the commotion, eyes landing on a knocked over phone with a cord attached to it, and none other than Johnny Mundo laying on the floor beside it for a long moment before he got to his feet and jogged over to the boy who was really worried for that head of his even though it didn't make contact with the dusty and slightly cracked linoleum floor of the precinct._

_"Trevor!" Johnny said, breathless from having to run halfway across the room to get to him. "I.." he chocked up, mouth hanging open as he just stood there staring at him._

_"Yes?.." Trevor felt the need to pull an answer out of his.. he wasn't his friend, but rather his.. acquaintance who seemed to be popping up everywhere he went. Mundo's eyes were looking anywhere but his as he reached behind his back and whipped out a... little gift neatly wrapped in green sparkly reindeer printed paper._

_"It's- uh, it's nothing much.. but, uh, Merry Christmas, I guess."_

_Trevor watched Mundo slowly back away before he could even flip the present over in his hands and open it right up. "Wait-" he said, getting the older to stop in his tracks. "Thank you, Johnny.. Really. It's, uh, very thoughtful of you." He couldn't stop the smile that quickly grew on his face no matter how hard he tried. It just.. kinda appeared, threatening to split his face in half._

_"Uh-huh." The long-haired man smiled softly, the skin on the sides of his eyes crinkling slightly. He watched Trevor turn the little present around in his hands for a good minute before telling him to open it._

_"Well, alright. I'm opening it now." Trevor laughed nervously as he carefully lifted the tape off the corners of the little gift that'd been bestowed upon him._

_"You could always just rip the paper off like a normal person, y'know?"_

_Trevor elected to ignore the others comment and focus on what he'd just unwrapped._

_It was a little.. uh, Drinking Bird toy. I mean, it was kinda adorable and all, but why'd he bother getting him anything at all?_

_"Not to be rude or anything, but why'd you even bother getting me a gift?.."_

_"Thought it'd be a nice desk-warming gift, is all. You know, for when you start working here next month." Johnny replied, sounding slightly nervous but managing to keep his voice fairly steady for the most part._

_"That's actually.. very thoughtful of you, John." Trevor said as he fiddled around with the little box that contains a small birdie that tips over and dips it's beak into a little cup of water to 'drink from it'. "I'll, uh, I will definitely remember to do that in a couple of weeks.."_

_"It's- it's really nothing.. But, uh, your welcome, Trev." Johnny stood there rocking back and forth on his heels and just.. watching the soon-to-be police officer. The latter found it to be a little creepy but, again, the long-haired mans handsome features really helped in toning down how freaked out he should be by all the things he's done to and for him in the last, like, ten months since their first meeting._

_"It was.." Trevor paused, trying to find an adjective that would best describe his feelings about their little meeting. "pleasant bumping into you today, John. But I really have to get going now."_

_"I'll walk you out," Johnny'd seemingly blurt out without a seconds hesitation. "I mean, you don't exactly _look_ like you need a police escort or anything, but-"_

_"Yeah, sure. Why not." Trevor said, beginning to make his way toward the exit of the building with that slightly creepy, handsome, **uniform wearing man** trailing behind him. _

_Unsurprisingly enough, on their way out the front doors of the precinct, they figuratively bumped into Drago and Aero who were bringing in the suspect Trevor assumed they were running out the door to arrest when he arrived earlier in the day._

_"Hey, Drago, Aero." Johnny said in passing as he was now walking in front of Trevor, who was trying _so hard_ not to let his eyes drift lower to where his pants just so happened to hug all the curves of his perky little a- _

_"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Johnny said as he suddenly turned to face him, effectively breaking him out of his reverie._

_He shook his head to cleanse his mind of any.. not clean thoughts about the.. the.. police officer who's supposed to be escorting him to his beat-up looking vehicle, but is instead standing in front of him, looking at him with a hint of concern under the layer of annoyance he was trying hard to portray._

_"Uh.. no?"_

_"Well, I basically just asked you what your car looks like and where it's parked."_

_Trevor chuckled nervously as he felt like a big fat baffoon. "Yeah, uh, how about I take us there and you just look.." he scratched his head as he tried to thing up the right adjective that would scare away any people that'd want to jump him._

_"Menacing?" Johnny helpfully supplied._

_"Sure, let's go with that." Trevor stepped in front of the.. the uniformed police officer and began his slower-than-usual strides toward his parked car. He only flinched a lot when he suddenly felt the weight of a muscled arm being set atop his yellow-clad shoulder. He burned as bright as a thousand suns, nearly tripping over his own two feet in the process._

_"W-what are you-"_

_"Shh," Johnny shushed him just before they walked passed a scary-looking gang that consisted of four guys. He didn't speak another word until they were way out of earshot. "That's Big Ryck and his crew, my ex-partner who just recently quit on me, now being a member, since he thought selling hard drugs on the side was a good idea."_

_"Wait.. John, what are you trying to say?" Trevor turned his head to the right, his nose brushing up against the others chin and sending tingles down his sp-_

_Johnny didn't move an inch even though he was also burning bright red at the sudden action. "I'm trying to say what I promised not to tell Konnan as long as Berto quit the force for good." He whispered in reply._

_Trevor hadn't noticed they'd stopped walking until just now. His eyes looked into the taller's for a fraction of thirty-seconds before they were trained on the ground where the toe of his boot was picking at a loose piece of gravel that'd somehow come loose from the ground. "You can.. uh.." he mumbled awkwardly, gesturing toward the warm, relaxed arm draped around his shoulders. Johnny immediately mumbled a barely audible apology and slowly removed his arm from around his shoulders. What he really wasn't expecting was Mundo to slide his warm, large, hand down his back until it reached the small of it and stayed there._

_He didn't want to give off a big reaction to the.. intimate gesture, so he instead tried his hardest to pretend in was totally normal as he slowed his walking pace down to a slow crawl as he led the man in.. in uniform over to his dark-yellow car. And, now that Trevor thinks about it, it probably wasn't too great of an idea to park on the street rather than in the stations lot. No one would've minded if he parked there for an hour or two. I mean, he is the captain's son, and all._

_"Well, we're here now." Johnny said as they reached the car Trevor'd been leading him toward. His hand still hung heavy on his lower back, threatening to make him keel over and die from sheer nervousness._

_"Oh, I guess we are." Trevor's present that'd been gifted to him by the man who's hand was _still_ on him was safely stored in his hoodie's pocket along with the green reindeer wrapping paper he'd neatly folded. What? There was no use in letting perfectly good wrapping paper -that he'd never actually reuse- go to waste. "Thanks for escorting me, John. But are you _sure_ you're not the one who needs one walking back to the station? This is a pretty seedy neighborhood."_

_"Oh, uh.. I think I'm good. I've got a loaded gun." He said, his free hand patting his holstered firearm. "Guess I'll see ya 'round before you, uh, start work?"_

_"I guess you will." Trevor's body was leant back against the side of his car, Johnny's hand now caressing his hip._

_"Sorry, bye." The older mumbled as he removed his hand from his body and turned to walk away._

_"Wait-" It was now Trevor's turn to stop Mundo with a gentle hand on his elbow. Johnny's lips were parted, his chest rising and falling in sync with every breath that escaped his mouth._

_"Yeah?"_

_"Thanks for- for escorting and protecting me, officer Mundo."_

_The coppers whole body reddened and he looked as if he was struggling big time to even come up with a response. "Eh, its nothing.. Have a safe drive home, young man. I mean Trevor."_

_Trevor unlocked and got in his car without another word. What was it about this.. what he assumed was the most real side of Mundo he's ever seen, that makes him.. that makes him react like he does? He didn't _like_ , like him, so what was it that made him flounder and flop like a fish in his presence?_

_He watched the flatfoot lean down to smile at him through the slightly dirty window of his car. And, not able to help himself, he smiled back. He heard two soft thumps on the roof of his car just before Johnny began his journey back to the police station._

Now back in present time, Trevor had just put his clothes on after putting it off for over twenty-minutes. And boy did he look _good_ in his uniform. He did a little twirl in front of his full-length mirror, paying close attention to his rear. Yup, the pants hug em just right. And since it was still winter, he was issued a long-sleeved uniform shirt that also looked pretty damn good on. 

He was exiting his apartment complex, heading toward his car that was parked out on the street when he suddenly got thrown into another flashback about Mundo. A little run-in he had with him last week. 

_Trevor was starting his job at the police station in just one week and decided that the best course of action would be to get a tour of the place. A tour that his father would not be conducting since he was such a busy man and couldn't find time to leave his desk what with all the phone calls and paperwork that kept flooding in. So he had one of his best, most trusted officers do it for him._

_I mean, sure, Ivelisse had a bit of a temper at times but that didn't mean she wasn't a good cop. Sometimes it was even a _good_ quality to have. Especially since her partner Havoc was the more level-headed person a majority of the time. They kinda had a good cop, bad cop routine they liked to follow. _

_"Hey, Ivee!" Trevor said as he entered the police station, coming face-to-face with the petite Puerto Rican officer standing there with crossed arms._

_Upon seeing the captain's son, her face lit up, lips stretching into a small smile. "You're late, Trevor." She said, mouth still set in a smile though it was a bit less.. cheery then it was moments before, the excitement of finally getting to see him again having partially worn off._

_Everyone -well, everyone that knew him, anyway- loved the kid. And not just because he was their bosses son. He was a genuine guy who was really nice and liked asking how someone's week was when he visits the station, and was sure to make a really great addition to the force._

_"Sorry about that.. I got stuck in-" Trevor started, but ended up getting cut off by the copper mid-sentence._

_"I don't need your excuses, kid. Let's just get on with the tour." Ivelisse replied, coming off as annoyed with the kid -which she was- but her tone was softer than she usually used when she was truly mad at someone, so Trevor knew she wasn't. Just a little annoyed, is all._

_She ended up showing him most of the building, including the interrogation rooms his father never let him step on the side with the mirror the criminals getting interrogated see their reflection in. He was only ever allowed on the side you can see through, but now that he's been on the side the detectives, and higher-ups such as Drago and Aero get to pull confessions out of criminals on, well, it only makes him want to be an officer even more badly than before. He'll use that feeling of determination to help motivate himself to climb the ranks and make detective one day. Hopefully with a badass partner by his side._

_And after all was said and done, Trevor was curious as to where his little desk would be. And after the hour-long tour, he mustered up the courage to ask his slightly-scary friend(?). "Say, Ivee, uh.. Um-"_

_"Out with it, Trev. I don't have all day." Ivelisse said, tapping her foot. She was annoyed, but mostly just didn't like how nervous and unsure of himself the kid sounded. He needs to be more confident in his speech if he wants people -mainly criminals- to listen to, and respect him._

_"Where's my desk?" He asked his revised question, this time sounding much more confident and sure of himself. Huh, maybe Ivelisse's snappy-temper _did_ do something to help the kid, even if just for a minute. _

_"Lemme check," Ivelisse mumbled, flipping through pages on a clipboard her boss Konnan had given her, and soon finding the information written in red pen. It looked as if someone had been pressing too hard on the paper when writing it, and made a small hole that went all the way though to the next three or so pages. "Right over by Mundo's humble abode."_

_Upon seeing the look of nervousness and.. something else she couldn't quite decipher on the kid's face, she let out a little laugh and grabbed his arm, pulling him in the direction of his desk-neighbor, who was currently sitting at his own.._

_Great. It was gonna be.. strange? Awkward? Great?... Seeing him again after their meeting last week wherein the older man walked him through a seedy parking lot, and neighborhood, over to where his car was parked. Mundo's hands never left his body until he'd gotten into his car and drove away. But the feeling of his hands, callused by his years spent in the field, on his body never quite left him. They followed him as he went through his daily routine, and if he saw his father Konnan, and the man brought up the handsome police officer.. -which he often times did, seeing as he hated the cop with a burning passion- well, he was screwed. Just the mention of him would bring back the memory of all that'd happened last week, or even their meetings in the last nine months, and he'd feel guilty and want to tell his father what'd happened, but also knowing that that would be the biggest mistake of his life._

_I mean, Johnny hadn't stepped over any boundaries -mainly due to Trevor not setting any- so what was there to tell his father? It's not like he'd just walk right up to his old-man and say 'hey, dad, I don't think you know this, but Johnny had his hands all over me as he escorted me out to my car the other day', cause it just doesn't work that way. If he so much as says Johnny _touched him_ , Konnan would be outta his office in half a second, gun drawn and ready to fire off every round it has directly into Mundo's face. _

_His heels were practically digging into the linoleum floor as they neared his desk-neighbor, and using her impressive strength, Ivelisse tugged harder until she finally got his legs to move again. And now here they were, standing directly behind Johnny's computer screen where he was typing away, not yet having noticed their presence. Not until Ivelisse said Trevor's name and the long-haired man quickly stood up, banging his knees into the the underside of his wooden desk and yelping in pain._

_After the pain in his knees had subsided enough for him to get off the chair he'd fallen back onto, he stood up and went around to where Trevor and Ivelisse were standing. "Hey, Ivee, Trevor. What are you two doing over here?" He asked nervously, not knowing what kind of reaction he'd get from the officer and the soon-to-be officer._

_Ivelisse decided to answer for the poor kid who was looking at Johnny with a nervous expression, eyes shifty, and mouth hanging agape._

_"First off, _I work here_. And secondly, The Barbarian had me give Trevor a tour of the place since he's starting next week, and the old man's too busy to leave his office and do it himself. Oh, and this is his desk." _

_Before Johnny could say anything, Trevor asked a question himself. "Wait- The Barbarian?" He questioned, looking between the two officers for an answer, both of which looked to the other, communicating with each other using only their eyes, and exaggerated head movements. In the end, Ivee won and it was Johnny who had to spill the beans._

_"'The Barbarian' is what we like to call Konnan." Johnny looked to the floor, seemingly nervous as to how he may react to his father's officers calling him names behind his back. "Please don't tell him." he added._

_"I won't.." Trevor replied, slightly confused but amused all the same. "But, uh, that's actually pretty funny, guys. Kinda wish you told me sooner though, cause it suits him pretty well." He finished, remembering all those conversations he's had with his father about Johnny Mundo and how 'terrible' and 'disgusting' he is. Sure, he's kinda creepy, but that doesn't make him a terrible person. It just means he needs to work on not.. being so creepy. And all those times they talked about Mundo, his father was being a real barbarian as well as a bit of an _idiota_. _

_Ivelisse cleared her throat, effectively breaking Trevor out of his reverie. "Hey, kid, I gotta get back to work right about now, but it was good seeing you again." She smiled at him, reaching an arm far above her own head to muss his hair, which didn't get as big of a reaction as she'd been hoping for. Then she turned to Johnny, her piercing gaze boring a hole right through him. "You better take good care of him, Mundo. After all, you two are desk-neighbors now."_

_"Will do, Ivee. I even got him one of those cute little drinking bird trinkets for his desk." Johnny replied, eyes trained on the younger man rather than the woman he was speaking to._

_"That's nice and all, but I gotta get a move on. Havoc ain't gonna be too happy if I'm late for patrol again." Ivelisse left without another word, but at the last second remembered to wave in passing at the newly appointed desk-neighbors, leaving them to their lonesome._

_"Desk-neighbors, huh?" Trevor mumbled to himself. Johnny must've been listening in though, because he quickly replied to the question that wasn't directed toward him._

_"Yup, me and you, buddy." The long haired copper said, wrapping an arm around the younger and pulling him closer for a moment. Almost like a half-hug. Trevor didn't immediately pull away, but rather let it happen for a bit. What? He was still a little.. curious as to what Mundo's motive and intentions were._

_"And just to clarify things, I did not request that you be my desk-neighbor, this is as much a surprise to me as it is to you. Plus, I think if I requested such a thing, The Barbarian would've killed me."_

_Trevor didn't come up with a response until Mundo was pulling his arm off of him and leaning back against his desk, hands gripping the edge of it to keep himself steady. "Yeah, I think this is actually the only free desk in this building. For lower-ranking officers, anyway." Trevor managed to get out._

_"Makes sense, I guess." Johnny replied, eyes practically smiling at the younger man. "And like the good desk-neighbor I am, I'd like to give you a present for the here and now. Now look away."_

_When Trevor didn't immediately turn to look away, Johnny sighed loudly and grabbed the younger's hands in his, bringing them to his eyes and holding them there until he quietly mumbled an agreement to keep 'em covered. Did I mention he was also burning bright red?_

_"Are you keeping them closed?" Johnny asked as Trevor heard what sounded like things getting shuffled and tossed around on the coppers desk. "Okay, open!"_

_He opened his eyes, coming face-to-face with a.. number 2 pencil with what looked to be little bite marks near the tip of it.. "I'm a little confused.. but, uh, thank you, John." He excepted the yellow pencil from Mundo's outstretched hand, setting it down on his sad, empty desk._

_"Dammit, I knew I should've grabbed the one without bite marks on it!" The flatfoot pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, rubbing at them as he groaned to himself._

_Trevor was about to reply when a vaguely familiar voice spoke up from behind him. "Gross, did my big brother seriously give you _that_ as a desk-warming gift?" Said the man who he knew to be Johnny's brother PJ. _

_"It's not.." Trevor started but then trailed off, trying to decide for himself whether or not he thought it was disgusting or sweet. "It's not the most sanitary thing I've ever been given.. but it's thoughtful, nonetheless."_

_"Dude, why are you even here? Aren't you supposed to be out patrolling with Jack?" Asked a flustered Johnny._

_"Well, _yeah_ but.. y'know.. things happen, people get on your nerves." The younger.. uh, twin appeared to be a little red in the face and nervous. He could tell as much by the toe of his shoe being dragged along the floor. _

_"What?" Johnny eyed his brother for a long moment, seeming to be thinking really hard about something in that.. that annoying, handsome head of his. "Oh, you two had another fight again, didn't you?"_

_"Maybe.." PJ mumbled, arms crossed as he stood in a nervous yet defensive stance. At the knowing look his brother gave him, he finally cracked, pulling out the chair to Trevor's desk and plopping right down into it. "Okay, yeah we did. It's just- ugh, he can be such an idiot sometimes! Like for instance: we kissed after you left the Christmas ball the station held last month, and then he didn't bring it up again until it was _actually_ Christmas! And when he _did_ bring it up, it was to say he was sorry it happened! And- and then I kissed him again on New Year's Eve at midnight, and he kissed me back, but then completely ignored me the day after like a complete asshole. Then called me the day after he ignored me to apologize, and now we.. kinda, sorta have a thing going on that he doesn't wanna tell anyone about yet cause it's all still new, and he doesn't wanna go around telling our friends until we're both, like, 75% sure this is what we really want-" _

_"Uh, I'll.. see you next week, John.. Good luck with him, by the way." Trevor whispered to Johnny as the latter tried his best to follow his brothers lengthy story._

_"Yeah, no it's okay. Sorry about him though. Things are a bit complicated right now." Mundo replied just as quietly._

_After waving and smiling a little, Trevor got outta there just as he heard -and saw- the beginnings of waterworks escaping PJ's eyes. He couldn't help but let his gaze linger on the mans older twin brother, eyes witnessing him pulling a tissue from a patterned box resting atop his desk._

_"It's alright, PJ.." the copper said, handing his brother the tissue and placing a comforting hand atop his shoulder. "Just let it all out. Tell big brother all about how awful Jack-Jack is." He heard that, followed by a loud sob he assumed came from the younger twin's mouth, as he began his long journey toward the exit of the precinct._

Back in present time, Trevor unlocked his car that was older than his father, and started up the engine. After taking a moment to adjust his mirrors, he pulled out of his parking space and began his drive toward the station for his first day of work. His first day of being official desk-buddies with Johnny. 

If his father were to ever catch wind of.. the little nick-name the two coppers had for their little desk-situation, well.. let's just say he'd probably just drop dead on the spot. Which is exactly why Trevor won't be the one to tell him. Like, ever. 

As he pulled into the precinct's parking lot, one question hit him upside the head like a crowbar:  
who was his partner?


	4. A Concussion And A Conniption

With the use of shaky hands, Trevor opened up the door of his car that he, luckily, remembered to park in the precincts lot this time, and stepped out onto the pavement on wobbly legs he could only compare to cooked noodles. His eyes did a once-over of the packed lot and rustic building that was the police station before he began heading toward it. 

He'd still need to visit his father to receive his utility belt with his weapons on it, as well as his badge, before he could meet his partner. Something he'd never thought to ask about until now. And what only made him even _more_ nervous was the fact that his uncle Rey was visiting for the weekend along with his partner Azteca. They're high-ranking police officers at a different station, and they decided that visiting to celebrate Trevor's graduation from the police training academy, as well as him becoming a police officer, was a good idea. They even all went to the water park the previous day, and surprisingly enough, Konnan tagged along. It was actually really fun getting to spend some quality time with them again. 

He pushed open the door of the precinct, trying his best to quell his nervousness as he stepped foot in the building. It felt different this time. He wasn't a civilian, or some kid visiting his daddy to drop off some food; he was a full-fledged police officer. Well, almost. He still needed his badge. 

It helped quiet his nerves the slightest bit to have his messenger bag slung over one shoulder, gave him something to fiddle with as he made his way passed the receptionists desk, giving a slight wave to them before continuing on toward his father's office. He may've took a _slight_ detour to get there, stopping at his desk-neighbors desk on the way. 

"T-Trevor-" Johnny sputtered out, accidentally hanging up the corded phone he was speaking into moments before. Hopefully that wasn't an important call.. 

Trevor tried his best to keep his cool as he replied to his handsome, uniform-wearing desk-neighbor. "Hey, John." Was all he could manage before getting lost staring at.. well, he was just staring.

Johnny was still sitting in his swivel office chair, biting his lip hard and eyeing him from top to bottom. "You look.. so s-." He cut himself off and quickly backtracked, mouth opening and closing for a moment that felt like an entire minute. "I mean- uh, you look professional! Very professional and not at all distracting..." 

He wasn't exactly sure what to make of the copper's.. not office appropriate comments, so he cleared his throat and tried to ignore the impact his words had on him. Johnny surely hadn't meant to say that he looked 'professional', so what was Trevor supposed to make of it? 

"Thanks.. Its, uh, new." He stewed in the awkward silence that followed his delayed response for a moment before breaking it. "I.. I need to go collect my badge and other things now, but it was nice seeing you again." He gave the older cop a polite, closed mouth smile before continuing on toward the captain's office, his bag still slung over one shoulder. 

He opened his father's office door without bothering to knock first, and being greeted with a smile that looked as if it physically hurt. His old-man had been acting strange..r than usual since their visit to the water park the previous day, and it was really starting to concern the young copper who'd yet to receive his badge. Even more so when he approached the balding mans desk only to see a glass of whiskey on the rocks resting atop some mugshots, around five fingers of liquid in it. 

"Dad.." Trevor sighed out, setting his bag atop a nearby chair and jumping up to sit upon the large desk, his rump making contact with paperwork and pictures of dead bodies that should _really_ be filed away before someone squeamish comes through here and.. well, meets their demise. 

"Yes, mijo?" Konnan replied before taking a generous gulp of the amber colored liquid that sat atop some mugshots. 

"Are you, like, alright? You've been.. acting stranger than usual since we went to the water park the other day." 

That got a negative reaction from his father, the aged man glaring at nothing in particular as he clenched the glass of whiskey in his shaking fist. He didn't dare speak a word until he'd done his routine of closing his eyes, breathing heavily, and counting to thirty before looking at his son again. "It's nothing, Trevy." 

"Really, dad? Cause for some reason I don't feel inclined to believe you." Replied a curious and worried Trevor. 

The captain clenched his jaw, doing his calm-down routine once more. "I'm fine. Now stop asking me, and say what you came here to say." 

Trevor stood his ground and didn't back down from the man, eyes staring deep into his and catching a glimpse of his suffering soul. "C'mon, what's wrong, dad? You're kinda scaring me here." 

"Why'd you come here, mijo?" Asked the tired looking man swishing liquid around in his glass before downing the rest of it in one go. 

Trevor didn't want to admit defeat, but rather wanted to get a move on with his day as to not be late for patrol with his unknown partner. So he pushed all feelings of concern for the man aside for the time being to focus on what he came to his office for in the first place. "I'm not done with whatever _this_ -" he gestured toward his tipsy and tired father. "-is. We'll talk about it later, but for now I guess I'll just ask for my badge and utility belt." He'd purposefully left out the part about his partner, wanting to leave that question for the last possible second. 

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that." His father unlocked one of his desk drawers, grabbing his son's heavy utility belt and handing it off to him. He'd waited until Trevor had put on the belt to give him his gun. And after all his accessories were on his body, he presented him with his badge. 

"You know what this is, right Trevor?" He said as he handed his dearest, only son, his badge. 

He smiled, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He'd never thought he'd see the day when his father would present him with such an honorable item. "Yeah, Dad. The guns and fancy weapons don't make the officer, his heart and badge do. His decisions dictate whether or not he is a good or bad cop. If he shoots someone, it doesn't make him a bad person as long as it's in the line of duty, and was completely necessary in the situation. I understand what this means, as well as what an important moment in my life this is. And I'm really glad to be sharing it with you." 

With a smile on his face and a tear or two in his eyes, Konnan brought his son into a tight hug, allowing his head to fall against his chest for a minute as he caressed his head in his hands. "This is gonna come out sounding really sappy, but fuck it. I'm so proud of you, mijo. You finally made it." 

"Thank you, Dad.." Trevor smiled tearfully, feeling like a big ol' sap himself. After his old-man had released him and he was about to sit back down in his chair, he asked the one question he'd been holding off on asking. "Say, who's my partner?" 

His father missed the chair, falling straight to the floor and landing right on his badonkadonk. The one he'd always claimed his son got from him. " **AAHH!** " he screamed in what looked to be rage and not pain. It looked like was gonna have an episode right then and there. 

Trevor lunged forward to help his father off the floor, his hands quickly getting swatted away. "Dad, are you-" 

"No, I am **not** okay, mijo. Not only is my ass broken, but you're partnered up with the- the d-" Konnan broke off to grab the nearby trash can and spit what looked to be a little bit of vomit into the black bin. He swallowed what he couldn't get to come out. 

"You don't mean.." Trevor started, soon trailing off as he stared at the look of absolute disgust written all over his father's aged features. There's only one person who could've possibly pulled such a reaction out of the middle-aged man, and that would have to be-

" **Mundo**." The old man spat out with as much venom as a human possibly could. It was a frightening sight to behold. One that you would not want to be on the receiving end of, if you could help it. 

His son shook his head, laughing the slightest bit to try and lighten the heavy mood. "Dad, why would you pair me up with him if you hate his guts? It just- it doesn't make any sense." Trevor stared at him, looking for any sign that the man had registered a word he'd said. It was about five minutes later when Konnan could finally utter a cohesive response. Poor guy. 

He looked his son's way, dark eyes holding a distant look in them. Like he still wasn't completely present. "I.. You know I wouldn't do this if it wasn't completely necessary, Trevy... But that _gringo_ is literally the only available, partnerless cop left in the building. Unless, of course, you want me to split up another duo and have one of them team up with you, and the other with the devil they call M-"

"It's fine, Dad. Look, I just.." he let out a long sigh. "Does he know?" 

"Hell no, I didn't tell him." Muttered his dejected father. He looked as if he were about to cry as he sat there on the floor, fingers gripping tightly at the fabric of his suit pants. 

"Dad..." Trevor crouched down and sat on the floor beside the old man, reaching a hand out to him. Konnan grabbed his son's hand and held it tight in both of his. "Is this.. is this why you've been acting so strange? Did you just find out yesterday?" 

He nodded in response, much like a child on the verge of tears would. "Your uncle Rey Rey asked me who your partner was yesterday.. and I just- I did the math in my head, and came up with that- that disgusting pig of a human being. That- that **gring-** " 

Trevor cut his father off, stopping him by placing his free hand over the ones that had his other one in a vice-like grip. "It's okay, dad. You don't need to.. continue. I'm just.." he trailed off, mind wandering off into all possible scenarios and situations he could be getting into with his partner if he weren't holed up in his dad's office, consoling the poor guy. "I should really go tell John so we can get a move on." 

"Alright, mijo." The old man mumbled, taking his hands off his son's and not-so discreetly bringing one to his eyes to wipe at the moisture that'd built up throughout their conversation about the devil they call Johnny Mundo. "But if he even _tries_ to touch you-" 

The door suddenly opened, Johnny Mundo walking right through it and glancing around the room until he caught sight of the father and son sitting on the floor behind the large desk. "Should I, uh, come back lat-" he started, getting cut off by the other two at the same time.

"Yes-" 

"No, dad. What'd you need, John?" Trevor said as he helped his father up off the floor and back into his swivel office chair. 

Johnny smiled at the little display, then quickly got his mind back on track with what he came to ask. "I was.. I was wondering when I'd be able to start patrolling again?" 

As Mundo finished speaking, Konnan began sliding down his chair again, making it halfway onto the floor before his son gave him a stern look and he got right back on the chair. 

"You tell him, mijo. My parents told me to never talk to _scum_." Mumbled a pouty Konnan. 

"Fine," Trevor let out a little huff before turning to face the handsome, long-haired police officer who he's now able to call his partner. "Well, John.. today is kinda your lucky day."

The flatfoot stared at him, unblinking, and lips parted ever so slightly. 

"Yeah?" Johnny breathed out. 

"Because.. I'm your partner." Trevor finished, staring at his partner with just as much- well, he was staring, all right. 

"I'm- Your- We're- Wow..." The older cop's hands were now tangled in his hair, pulling at the long locks as he paced the expanse of his scary bosses office. 

Trevor glanced at his father to see him serving himself another glass of whiskey in a daze, pausing a couple of times to drink straight from the bottle. He was worried for that mans mental, and physical health at this point, so he wrenched the bottle from the old man's grasp and gave it to a still flabbergasted Johnny. 

"Dad." He called out to the far-off man sitting in front of him. He'd have to calm him down the only way he knew would work in that moment in time. "I have a gun, if he tries anything, then I could always just-" 

" **Kill him**." it sounded a lot more like an order than it did a question, which concerned Trevor to no end. 

"Uh, sure.. Look, I gotta go now, but we're so not done with this conversation, okay?" He received an angry, curt nod in response. His old-man wasn't just pissed off beyond belief, but he was also terrified, sad, and worried. All for his son. He was overprotective and overbearing sometimes, but it was all because he's afraid of losing his baby. The only thing he's got left. He's told him as much. And the memory will stay with Trevor 'til the end of the line. 

So he leaned in close and hugged his daddy with as much force as he possibly could, smiling when he felt the others crushing grip in response. 

"I love you, mijo. You know that's why I'm like this.. right?" 

"I know, dad. You've told me. And.. I love you too." He whispered into his chest, inhaling the musky scent for a moment before he was pulling away and giving his father one last sad smile. He then dragged a very confused Johnny Mundo out of the office by the wrist. 

"Trevor, what was all that about? Is he even fit for duty?" 

"Hell no, that's why he's in an office." The younger cop said, running a hand through his hair and taking his hand away from the other's wrist once he realized what it was squeezing. 

"Are you.. alright though? You looked a little shaken up back there." Asked a concerned looking Mundo, who's hand that wasn't holding a bottle of whiskey came up to rest atop his shoulder. He allowed it to stay there for a moment, allowed himself to feel the effects his touch had on him. He felt the redness creep up the collar of his uniform, spreading unevenly across the expanse of his neck and face.

"We should really get going, Johnny. There might be a call on the radio we need to respond to." Trevor stayed beside his partner for a minute, trying to control his unsteady breathing caused by having to deal with his father, and.. his partner's warm touch, before he was walking ahead of him. He saw Johnny's hand drop to his side and tried to ignore the now cold spot on his tense shoulders. 

"If you're not gonna talk to me about what happened back there, then could you at least tell me where I can put this?"   
He glanced behind him in time to see the bottle of whiskey Mundo was brandishing. 

"Uh, I don't know.. leave it at your desk or something?" He replied. 

"Dude, do you know how much trouble I'd get in if I was caught with a half-empty 4 liter bottle of whiskey at work?" 

Trevor ignored his comment and weaved his way through crowds of officers to get to his own desk. He took the bottle of alcohol from the more experienced cop and put it in his own desk. "There. And if anyone has a problem with it, they can report me to the captain." 

"Your dad.. See, this is why I like you so much. I mean- like, you're smart and stuff. I don't just like you because your dad's important or anything.. Cause I'm not like th-" 

"I know, John." Trevor couldn't help but smile at the copper who didn't like getting what he said taken the wrong way. "Now let's get a move on. I wanna see our squad car." 

"It's really nice, actually. I especially love the dent from when one of my ex patrol partners smashed my face into the drivers side door. God, I really hate that guy." 

Johnny continued going on about a couple of his quite awful partners, telling him some of the stupid and risky stuff they've done while on the job as they made their way outside the building to their squad car. It looked the same as the rest of 'em, only difference being the large, Mundo shaped dent in the drivers side door. 

"Man, you weren't kidding John.." Trevor placed his hand atop the dent, feeling around for a moment. "I always knew Cage was a bit of an.." 

"Ass?" Johnny helpfully supplied.

"Thanks- uh, yeah. I knew he was an ass and all, but I never knew he was.. stealing evidence and threatening his partner.. Kinda makes me wish you could tell my dad, maybe clear things up with him." 

"Look, I wish I could tell him too, maybe clear my name and make him understand that I didn't make that dent with a perps face, but I really don't wanna bring him into the thick of things. In fact, I thought it would be best not to tell anyone except PJ, but look where I am now; spilling the beans to my bosses son, who is also my new patrol partner." 

Trevor couldn't help but feel flattered by his partner's words. He thought him trustworthy enough to tell him all about his past partners' acts of treason, and if that wasn't trusting.. Well, he didn't know what was.   
He also felt pity for the poor guy, he really wished Johnny hadn't of given himself such a bad reputation in his father's eyes all to save his and everyone else's skins, though it was very noble. Made him realize what he'd known all along: Mundo wasn't a bad guy by any means, he just happened to be partnered up with the wrong people. _Four_ wrong people, to be more specific. 

"Why do you trust that I won't just tell my dad, clear you name without your consent?" 

Johnny looked to be mulling things over in his head for a minute before carefully answering the question. "Because.. you don't seem like the type who'd do such a thing, Trevor. I feel like you especially wouldn't tell him, because he'd just up and fire me right on the spot and then you'd be partnerless." 

"Well, you're right about a couple of things.." Trevor mumbled in reply, walking around the car over to the passengers side door where he stood waiting until his partner unlocked the vehicle. 

"And what might those be?" Johnny asked, turning to face him in the rather compact cop car.   
Trevor blushed something fierce, steadying his breathing while trying to come up with a witty.. er, a response.

"You're right that I'm not the kinda guy who'll just run to his daddy as soon as he hears talk of treason amongst the ranks. Even though Brian's long gone from the station, it could still get you in serious trouble."

"And?" Johnny said, still looking right at him with those captivating eyes that he still knew very little about what lies behind them.

"And maybe you'll find out later, Mundo. We really need to get a move on." 

Mundo's heavy gaze finally turned away from him to focus on the drivers side window for a moment, and from that angle he could see the beginnings of a smirk growing on his handsome, rugged features. 

"You're such a tease, Mann." Is what the older cop hit him with, knowingly causing him to turn a light shade of fire-engine red at the implications. 

"Just.. shut up and drive, Mundo." Trevor muttered in reply, shutting his door and quickly buckling up. Johnny followed suit, taking his sweet time in buckling and starting up the engine. 

"So, is this your your first time, Trev?" His partner asked with an innocent look on his face, pretending he didn't know what he was.. implying. 

He crossed his arms in annoyance and didn't look Mundo's way as they exited the parking lot, pulling out onto the dangerous streets of Boyle Heights. "I've done this before, John. Been on ride-alongs." 

"Yeah, but this is the _real_ thing, Trevor. You can no longer just stand behind your dad and watch as he tickets an angry mans car, or arrests a drunk driver or something. This here is the real deal. But don't worry, I'll go nice and slow, make sure to guide you through the process." 

He was breathing heavily through his nostrils, hands gripping at the underside of the passengers seat. Is Johnny _seriously_ gonna be making innuendos throughout their entire first day together? Cause if so, then Trevor could hit him back just as hard. Maybe even worse, considering he doesn't usually speak that way with.. well, anyone, really. 

"I'm sure it'll be very slow and painful, John. But I know you'll prepare me before allowing us to continue, cause you're just that type of guy. Caring, yet still adventurous and willing to try new things." 

It may or may not have been Trevor's fault that his partner jerked the wheel to the right and ended up swerving into the empty lane beside him, stuttering out an apology. 

"I- I.." his hands were at ten and two on the wheel, but his mind was somewhere far, far away. And just when it looked like he was about to swerve again they received a transmission on the radio, Johnny hastily reaching out to grab the small radio and hold it close to his mouth. 

"The emo clown is making noise and disturbing the peace again at the strip mall. Any takers?" Said a squeaky voice that Trevor couldn't quite put a name to. 

"Y-yeah, I'll, uh- _we'll_ take it." 

"Johnny? You're out in the field again? Who're you partnered up with?" The squeaky voice spoke once more. 

"Uh.. I'm out with Trevor, the captains son, right now. Cause we're kinda partners now.." replied the still distracted Johnny Mundo sitting to Trevor's left. 

"Ooh, well good luck, Johnny!" The squeaky voice that belonged to a woman replied before the radio transmission ended. 

"Who was that? Kinda sounded like you two knew each other." Asked Trevor, who was fiddling with the sleeve of his uniform. 

"Oh, that was Taya. We're kinda friends, I guess. We like to gossip together sometimes when we're both on break. She's actually kinda nice once you get to know her." 

"Oh," Trevor acknowledged him. "You gonna turn on the sirens?" He found it odd how the copper would press the gas a little harder but not do one of the most important things a police officer is supposed to do when responding to a disturbance call. 

Johnny seemed to be relieved at the change of subject, his shoulders relaxing as they got back on track. "Uh, well.. Pentagon Dark, the emo clown who's disturbing the peace, likes to go to the same place every week and.. make gang signs at people while he says creepy phrases in Spanish and chases them around. Plus, that guy really doesn't like the sound of sirens, makes him antsy. So we never approach with them on. Just hope that he'll keep his cool and listen to what we have to say." 

"Wait- I'm a little confused here. If he goes around disturbing the peace every week, then why hasn't he just been arrested yet?" Asked Trevor. 

"Oh, he's been arrested a countless number of times, but we don't have anything to keep him in jail. He hasn't actually harmed any civilians, hasn't hurt the cops that are either there to politely ask him to leave, or arrest him, either. So we've got nothing. Can't touch him." 

"Well that's just great. We're gonna be chasing around some emo clown for the rest of our careers, aren't we?" Asked a still slightly confused Trevor, who was looking at his partner and wondering why on earth they have to deal with people such as Pentagon. 

"I wouldn't say our _whole_ careers, but for a majority of it; yes. I deal with annoying weirdos like Pentagon all the time, sometimes there's a knife or a gun involved and I have to take action and decide whether or not I need to use a taser or a gun.. it's not always easy out there, Trevor. And that's why you're lucky to have an experience partner such as myself." 

"That's good to know, though I kinda wish I'd known more about it _before_ I joined the force, even if my dad's let me in on a lot of his little secrets. But I guess I'm glad I.. have you, John. You seem to know what you're doing." He smiled a little, turning his head toward the passengers side window to try and hide it from his partner. 

They soon arrived at the scene of the cri- the outdoor mall where Pentagon Dark was walking around people in circles, repeating the words 'cerro miedo' along with what looked to be gang signs. 

-

Rey and his partner Azteca had been tailing Johnny Mundo and his nephew Trevor since they left the police station earlier that day. It's not that Konnan didn't trust his son to be out in the field, it's more that... he didn't trust Mundo and hated his guts. 

He parked his black -hopefully- inconspicuous looking vehicle a few cars behind that of the copper's they were tailing. He wouldn't want to alert them or Pentagon of their presence. The emo clown had never attacked any civilians or police officers -from what Konnan has told him- and he'd hope to keep it that way. The poor guy probably wouldn't react well to _four_ officers - as opposed to the typical two, that usually interact with him- showing up ready to arrest him or ask him politely to leave. 

"Should we go out there and do something?" His partner Azteca asked as they watched Johnny get out of the squad car, Trevor following after him. And when the younger cop came up behind him, he put out an arm. From what the two coppers currently cooped up in their car could deduce from reading his lips, was that he was telling him to stay back a ways and let him handle things for his first confrontation. 

God, he still remembers Konnan asking -well, more like begging, really- him to tail his son like it was just yesterday.. And maybe that's because it actually _was_. 

_It was a nice and sunny day- oh who am I kidding? It was cold and the damned water park shouldn't have even been open! But here Rey was with his partner Azteca, his best friend Konnan who he considered to be his brother, and his nephew Trevor, basking in the cold breeze of winter and praying for the clouds to go away for a minute so he could stop shivering like a chihuahua in a dunk tank._

_Trevor was looking particularly restless this not-so-fine day, fidgeting with his backpack straps and continuously lifting his cheeks into a big smile to make his sunglasses bob up and down on the bridge of his nose._

_They were supposed to be out having fun, celebrating the kid's big achievements, but they were instead walking around the place looking for an empty beach chair. Just _one_ would've been nice, but not one was vacant, each and every one having been marked as someone else's territory with a simple towel, maybe a bag if they were feeling risky. _

_And after about ten minutes of that, Konnan had had _enough_. He spun around to face his the three boys walking behind him, face red with anger he wouldn't dare release in such a public setting. "You know what- fuck this. We're renting the biggest lockers this place sells." He muttered before stalking off in the direction of the rent-a-lockers. _

_"You think he took his meds today?" Azteca leaned close in to ask his partner._

_"You know what, brother? I don't even know if he's _ever_ taken any." Rey replied, hiking his backpack further up his back. His was a red one with a big yellow question mark on it, his partner having a similar one, only it was green and looked very watermelon-like. Though he'd argue it was a _dragon_ , and not a freaking watermelon. Cause who the hell would wanna tote around a melon when they could show off their awesome totally-a-dragon backpack? _

_"Better late then never," Azteca replied as they got closer and closer to the lockers until they could all see the prices of them._

_" **THIRTY-FREAKING-DOLLARS!?** " Konnan shouted as soon as he'd read the outrageous price of a jumbo locker that didn't look so jumbo to him, his backpack falling to the floor and making a loud crack sound. He didn't seem to care about his likely shattered mini bottle of tequila he'd managed to sneak inside the park, too lost in his own thoughts as he leaned most of his weight on his son._

_"Dad- just breathe, alright? It's only thirty-dollars-"_

_"Thirty-dollars!" The old man shouted again._

_"- _and_ it's either someone sits beside a trash can all day with all our crap, or we shell out thirty-bucks to keep it all safe. Take your pick." _

_Man, Konnan's son really was good at making a point. Cause there's no way in _hell_ Rey, Azteca, or Konnan would wanna sit beside a literal can of filth all day, keeping an eye on all of their useless junk while everybody else gets to have fun and get wet. Those being two vastly different things, Rey'd learn as the day went on. _

_"If tomorrow wasn't a very special day for my little Trevy, I'd be running the other way screaming. But since it is.. I guess I'll have to. No matter how much it pains me to give money to the _pendejos_ who run this place." Said Konnan. _

_"Wow, thanks, Dad. Really means a lot that you hold me in such high regard." Trevor muttered, the little smile on his face betraying his sarcastic words._

_Konnan eventually pulled out his wallet, dispensing thirty-dollars into the blue machine and getting a locker number in return.  
Rey and Azteca looked to each other, then back to the tiny locker labeled as 'jumbo', both thinking the exact same thing. _

_"How are we possibly gonna fit all _this_ into that tiny thing?" Azteca voiced, gesturing to the four large backpacks they were all toting around.   
Konnan narrowed his eyes at him, finger pointing at the lone trash can stationed a few feet off from them. _

_"You can sit your ass down over there, or shut up and stuff your watermelon purse into this here **expensive** locker."  
Azteca raised his hands in surrender, though he did speak up to defend his bag. _

_"It's not a watermelon, it's a dragon. And I wouldn't exactly call it a purse.. it's more of a backpack, you see."_

_Konnan didn't appreciate the retort, and grabbed the coppers watermelon bag, carelessly crushing it into the small locker and punching and elbowing it until there was room for Rey's bag to go in next._

_"I- I think I've got it, Konnan. I can do it myself, thanks." Rey stuttered out, stepping up to the locker and carefully crushing his favorite backpack into the compact space before wordlessly asking for Trevor's bag._

_"Think I'm good, Rey Rey. I'll, uh, I'll do it myself. Thanks though." He smiled slightly before carefully folding his bag in half and setting it on top of the rest of the junk in the rust coated metal box with a fancy digital pad lock key system on it._

_His father grabbed his own slightly wet bag off the concrete floor and stuffed it in after. And the literal _second_ the little door clicked shut, Konnan suddenly remembered something that was vitally important, even if the sun wasn't out to shine. _

_"I forgot the sunscreen!" The old man whined, typing in the four-digit number that unlocked the thing, totally not expecting all of their junk to fall out onto the ground, his little tequila bottle likely shattering into a million more pieces. "Ah, cra-" before the old man could finish speaking, Azteca was already pulling Rey off into the direction of the sunniest part of the park that Trevor was already headed in, which really wasn't all that warm._

_Since all three of them had already stripped down until they were merely wearing trunks and flip flops, they decided it was a good idea to dip their toes in the little play area with moderately sized slides and gallons upon gallons of water constantly falling from large buckets and onto screaming kids, teenagers, and adults. As soon as they ditched their foot protection and stepped into the water, Trevor was screeching in pain from how cold it was, Rey and Azteca soon joining in._

_"I know I'm not really supposed to be swearing here, but fuck it, it's cold!" Trevor exclaimed, hopping from foot-to-foot as he made his way over to some stairs that'd take him up to a medium-sized water slide, Rey watching as a gigantic bucket of water got dumped all over his unsuspecting nephew._

_"You alright, Trev?" He asked, watching as the man in question frantically wiped water out of his eyes and off of his face._

_"No! Rey, this stuff's freezing!"_

_"The more water you get on you, the quicker you'll get used to it." Azteca chimed in as he came up behind his partner who was currently following his nephew up the stairs and over to the slides. There were four in all, each one being on different levels of the structure._

_"You say that now, Azteca.. but just wait until fifty-gallons of water gets dumped on _you_." Retorted a disgruntled Trevor who was headed toward the red-hued water slide. _

_"Oh, c'mon, kid. You're totally overreacting. It was, like, forty-five at most." Replied Azteca._

_Trevor was about to reply to what the watermelon-bag partner of his uncle Rey Rey had said when his uncle decided he'd had enough of them already and told 'em both to shut up and act like grown ups. Or at least not like children._

_After that ordeal was over and done with, they all went down three of the slides before getting bored and going off in search of a sliver of sunlight. After a grueling ten-minute search, they'd finally found some over by the rows upon rows of beach chairs that were each taken up by a single towel. Trevor didn't look like he wanted to break the unspoken water park rule and toss a towel onto a different chair, so Rey did it for him, only receiving a slap to the arm from the younger in response._

_"Isn't that, like, wrong or something?" His nephew asked, slowly crouching down until his tush was resting on the very edge of the white plastic beach chair._

_"No, what's wrong is every damn chair in this place being taken up by a freaking _towel_. A dry one at that." He replied. _

_"Amen, brother. Toss that one too, would ya?" Azteca said, gesturing toward the rainbow towel sitting on the chair beside Trevor. Rey nodded and tossed towels off of the two chairs beside each other, smiling to himself when he and his partner laid down on them, eyes closed and muscles relaxed as they felt the sun rays make contact with their cold bodies._

_"Feels good, doesn't it, boys?" Asked Rey, who was soaking up the minimal amount of sun shining down on him. He received two low hums of approval in response, and took that as a good sign. Huh, by the look of it, running off and stealing 'occupied' beach chairs to sunbathe on was totally worth the smiting they'll undoubtedly get when Konnan finds them later on._

_But for now he'd just sit back, relax, and enjoy what little amount of sun he could ge-_

_"What the hell? Dad!"_

_His eyes shot open and he turned to his left only to see Konnan pouring a generous amount of delicious, fruity scented, Spongebob Squarpants sunscreen all over his son's impressive eight-pack, and spreading it around with his hand._

_"Mijo, you're gonna end up dying from some horrible skin disease unless you learn to take care of yourself!"_

_"I'm twenty-seven, I can take care of myself. And besides, there's only the tiniest bit of sun out today!" Replied a defiant, and annoyed Trevor._

_"Ever heard of a cloudburn? Cause they're real, and out to kill. And if I can't protect you when you're out in the field, well you best bet I'm gonna do all I can to protect you at the water park, Trevy."_

_Rey giggled into his hand and nudged his partner, getting him to join in on the joke as Konnan continued to badger his son while the latter persisted in denying that the SPF be put on the rest of his body._

_"K-konnan.." he paused to laugh. "Stop badgering the kid and just-"_

_"Just what? Let him burn to death?" Konnan said with a death glare that sent a chill down Rey's spine._

_"Look, how about we.. go have some fun in the lazy river while these two go off and have some fun of their own?" He suggested, looking to Azteca and his nephew for their approval, and receiving two vigorous nods and enthusiastic 'yeses' in response._

_"I guess I could maybe.. try out one of those nice, **expensive** looking inner tubes they have to rent." Replied the grumpy middle-aged man wearing a purple rash guard. Heh, paired with those green trunks of his, it kinda made him look like Barney. _

_"I could use the thrill of a gigantic water slide. What 'bout you, Azteca?" Trevor smirked at Rey's partner, already getting up from his beach chair and flicking sunscreen off his chiseled abs._

_"I too could use some man-time with my favorite almost-nephew. See ya later Konnan, Rey Rey." Azteca said, smiling and giving his partner's arm a light squeeze before he was following Trevor off in the general direction of some of the biggest, craziest, water slides the park had to offer._

_Now alone with the old man he called his best friend, he got up off his beach chair and grabbed the sunscreen bottle from him, applying some to his own neck and shoulders. What? He's getting older and doesn't like the thought of wrinkles taking over his entire body._

_"Mind getting my back?" He asked, handing the balding man the bottle without an affirmative due to being impatient, and knowing he'd begrudgingly say yes anyway._

_"Great, not only am I stuck putting sunscreen on your hairy back, but we're _also_ gonna have to pay, like, a thousand bucks each for a floaty to keep us alive in what is probably only three feet of water." _

_Rey elected to ignore the comment about his back, and instead laughed at how crazy the man was being. "Konnan, I seriously doubt it's a thousand dollars for a crappy floaty that's been being used at this dump since the 2000's. Maybe eight bucks; anything over that and _I_ would be the one running outta here screaming." _

_"Anything over eight, and I swear I'll whip out my badge and some zip ties and arrest the people who run this overpriced stink-hole they call a water park."_

_"Alright, but I won't be the one to break the news to your 'little Trevy' that that you went off the deep end and arrested seventy innocent civilians on account of them working for an overpriced water park. Yeah, we'll see how well that bodes with him."_

_Konnan had the decency to look like he was at least _considering_ his friend's words before shaking his head and taking the sunscreen bottle from his hands, stalking off in the direction of the lockers to put it away before their day of fun in the shade began. _

_-_

_They each ended up renting a inner tube for what Rey considered to be a measly seven bucks, but what nearly made Konnan's eyes pop out of his skull. He'd had to catch the middle-aged man by the arm before he could collapse and flatline right then and there. Couldn't have him dying before his son became a full-fledged police officer, now could he?_

_And now they were waiting at the steps of the lazy river with two gigantic floaties, patiently waiting their turn to step into the crowded pool. Which started to get annoying after the first minute of waiting for an opening in the water._

_Rey'd managed to stop Konnan from stepping in and breaking up a large family on his first attempt, but the second time, when there was only a small group of what looked to be five friends blocking the entrance, the middle-aged man hopped right in without a care, soon jumping on top of his inner tube, butt sticking through the hole and hands holding onto the two little black handles._

_Rey shook his head at his best friend's antics and waited around a minute longer for another group to pass before he could squeeze in and enter the river with the floaty around his waist, it soon being under his armpits as he lifted his feet off the floor of the river and allowed himself to float. He leaned forward in it and kicked with his feet until he'd caught up with his friend._

_"Took you long enough, Rey Rey. Get stuck behind the heard of buffoons in speedos, did ya?"_

_"I got stuck behind a family wearing very little, yes." He grumbled in response, not liking his smug tone and aggravating smirk._

_"Oh, c'mon Rey, I was just busting your balls. No need to get all bent outta shape."  
And just to get back at the agitating old man, Rey came back with a retort that would have him wet and gasping for air. _

_"Speaking of balls being busted," he paused, moving his legs in a way that made him and his inner tube spin in circles, "Trevor get laid recently?"  
Konnan's eyes shot open behind his tinted prescription sunglasses, and he fell off his inner tube, getting completely submerged under water for an alarming amount of time before his balding head came up and Rey got a mouth full of water sprayed in his face. _

_"What the hell!" Rey exclaimed, dipping his hand in the water and rubbing it across his soaked-with-spit-water face._

_"That's for asking about my son's hopefully non-existent sex life!" This time, Konnan slipped the inner tube over his head until it was supporting his body from under his armpits. Then he slapped Rey's arm a couple of times just for good measure._

_"Just wanted to see what would happen.. And seeing as you reacted so negatively, I'd say he has his eyes on a prize. Am I right, Konnan?"_

_"He-" Konnan swallowed hard, closing his eyes and counting to thirty before looking at his friend again. "It's none of your business, Rey. In fact, I don't want it to be part of _my_ business. I'd much rather drown to death in this disease-ridden cesspool than have to hear, or talk about, my son having sex with some disgusting pig of a human being!" Spit was flying everywhere by the time he finished speaking, the sight managing to attract a few lingering stares from passers-by. _

_"That sounds a lot like he's out in the field, not only to fight crime, but date as well. Anyone I should know about? Should I 619 someone's ass? You know, the old shovel talk from one guy to another. Let 'im know that Trevor's got an uncle who's ready to tear him in half if need be." Said a curious and protective Rey._

_"No, there's no one you should know about. So stop asking about him. Don't even mention dating, or sex in the same sentence you dare speak my son's name; or I _will_ kick your ass into next week. Capiche?" _

_Konnan was seething with anger and embarrassment, only making Rey want to take the joke even further, but also knowing that if he _did_ , he'd probably end up getting his ass kicked. _

_"Yeah, I get you, esé." He mumbled, smirking to himself as he extended his short legs behind him and continued kicking to move forward, Konnan doing the same to catch up with him. "But why are you getting so crazy and bent outta shape about it? I mean, if he likes this guy so much, shouldn't he have a good reason to?.."_

_"Rey, I swear to g-"_

_"Konnan, it's fine. Just tell me what's so bad about the guy." Rey said, cutting his friend off mid-sentence. He's still technically following the rules, not mentioning sex and his son in the same sentence. The reason he thought of it in the first place was because Trevor looked.. different. Different in a way that usually meant someone was having really great sex, or had a raging crush on someone and was going wild with hormones and had a sort of.. glow to them. Eh, it's kinda hard to explain and Rey was only one-hundred percent expecting his friend to have such a negative reaction. It all goes to show how truly mysterious he is, how he knows so much about the kid without being around him all that much, too busy being at the police station that he and Azteca work at._

_"Just so you know, they aren't sleeping together.. at least that I know of.." he paused, looking like he was about to throw up a little bit as he did his little calm down routine before looking to his friend once more, totally not noticing all the kids surrounding them. "I think he has a little crush on the **devil** they call-"   
At his slightly raised voice, a few kids looked their way and stared confusedly for minute until the middle-aged man shooed them away, the kid's quickly paddling off without the need of an inner tube. _

_"Yes?"_

_"The- the devil they call.." he cut himself off, laying his head down on the blue floaty.  
Rey hadn't a clue whether or not his friend could continue without combusting, even if there wasn't anything flammable nearby. So he placed a hand atop the mans shoulder that was clad in purple and gave it a firm squeeze, both of them facing each other as they languidly floated down the river. _

_"Sorry, brother.. I-I know how I'd feel if my son was out dating, having sex, driving around town in a squad car with his partner, putting his life on the line daily to serve and protect his barrio."_

_"You don't even have any kids, so get your damn hands off me!" Konnan swatted at Rey's hand that rested atop his shoulder, pouting as he moved his legs around to make him and his floaty spin in circles._

_Rey knew the man didn't mean to react so.. defensively and be so mean, it's just the way he handled strong emotions._

_"Yeah, but I know how it feels to watch your nephew grow up and go off to college. Watch him go off to the police training academy and become a man. It's.. it's hard, and incredible, and just all around a very emotional process that you shouldn't have to bottle up and deal with on your own."_

_Konnan immediately stopped his spinning to face his friend with narrowed eyes he could only barley make out behind the tinted prescription sunglasses that rested upon the bridge of his nose._

_"Konnan, he's twenty-seven.. You gotta let him live a little, figure things out with whoever this.. guy is that you won't tell me anything about."_

_"I promised not to.. kill the guy, so I'd call that progress." Replied a glum looking Konnan._

_"Well, that's better than nothing, I suppose." Rey smiled a little and swam past his friend with the help of his giant, uncomfortable floaty.  
After a few minutes of the both of them floating and swimming around, Konnan caught up with him and stayed beside for a minute before opening his mouth to speak. _

_"Hey, uh.. Rey.." he started, sounding nervous and unsure of himself. He sighed softly and managed to push through and continue speaking. "Uh, thanks.. I um.. I don't really have anybody to talk to back at the station. But that doesn't mean I appreciate you bringing up the whole-" he made a gesture, "my son having... intercourse thing. That was- that was gross."_

_"Yeah.. sorry 'bout that. I'll just ask him myself next time."_

_"Why you little-" Konnan cut himself off, choosing to release all the tension in his body rather than make another scene._

_"Say, who's his partner? I wanna know what crazy little bastardo gets to be paired up with Trev."_

_"I-I don't actually know.." Konnan paused, humming to himself and looking as if he were doing the math in his head, crossing off all officers who already had partner's when suddenly his face froze in shock, which soon turned to a worried expression before finally setting on one of pure, unadulterated **rage**. _

_"What-"_

_" **MUNDO!** " is what the old man shouted as he all of a sudden slipped out of the inner tube and went under, not coming back up for quite some time. And by the time he _did_ reemerge, a kid had already stolen his floaty and was paddling away with it in his grimy little hands. _

_"Hey, isn't that the guy you're always going on ab-" Rey started, only to get rudely cut off by his insane best friend._

_"Rey! Rey, you gotta help me!" He grasped onto his shoulders with a vice-like grip, forcefully shaking him and spraying water out of his mouth, somehow managing to get it everywhere. Including in his mouth._

_"What?" He said, pushing Konnan off of him to spit in the water and back away from him. "You mean your floaty? Cause some kid already stole i-"_

_"No, I don't care about that!" Konnan grabbed the two handles of his friends inner tube, holding on tight as the rest of his body remained under water, slowly being dragged along with the current._

_"Then what-"_

_"You have to help me, Rey!" His loud shout got a lifeguard to look their way, a look of concern etched on her face._

_"We're fine, he's just crazy!" Rey said in passing, his flotation device taking him and Konnan both under a bridge and out of the lifeguards' sight for the time being. They soon came out from under it and made it back into the cool, afternoon sun. "What's up?.. Are you alright?"  
Konnan tightened his grip on the handles, pulling himself closer to his friend's face. _

_"No, I am not alright, Rey! That- that _devil_ Johnny Mundo is my son's partner!" _

_"Devil?.." Rey asked confusedly._

_"Yeah, yeah, weren't you listening? Keep up with me here!"_

_"Yeah, I am. I'm just really confused, cause from what I've heard about him from most people is that he's a really gr-"_

_"It's all lies, Rey! That disgusting sleazebag of a human being is gonna corrupt my little Trevy with his- his _ways_!" _

_"You mean-"_

_"Don't say it, Rey-"_

_"sex?"_

_"Jesus Christ, you said it! Know what? I'm gonna get outta here and go puke in a trashcan." The old man said, releasing his friends floaty and grabbing onto the walkway-slash-wall surrounding the lazy river, about to lift himself out of the water when a lifeguard suddenly blew their whistle as loud as they possibly could and yelled at him to "get down"._

_"What's so wrong about Trevor wanting to blow off some steam once in a while? And more importantly, what's so wrong with Mundo that you go insane at the mere mention of his name?"_

_"It's- he's- agh! He's just so- He's disgusting! He hits on anything that looks to be breathing, and just wants to steal my baby from me!"_

_"Well.. maybe it's time that you learned to share your baby. His hearts big enough for the both of you, Konnan. And if that's really all that you're worried about then maybe you should look at where your son's headed in life. He's come so far, and if you start holding him back from going out in the field and fighting crime, possibly even finding love.. then maybe you should take a step back and reevaluate things from an outsiders perspective. Just a thought.. not trying to tell you how to parent your child."_

_Rey's little speech managed to render Konnan speechless, the older man closing his mouth and blowing large amounts of air out of his nostrils. "I- You're literally telling me how to parent my child! What the hells wrong with you?"_

_Even though he blew up at Rey, he still looked like he was thinking hard about his words. Maybe even considering taking his advice, but that was a bit of a stretch._

_"At least _consider_ taking my advice, alright? I just really want my nephew to grow up having a healthy relationship with his father, and his father to maybe.. I don't know, treat him and his partner like the adults that they are?" _

_"I.. No father wants to have the image of his son.. y'know, _playing the field_... and I just really want him to be interested in anybody other than the devil himself.. maybe even stay single forever. It'd save him the heartache he's bound to get from getting involved with the likes of Johnny Mundo." _

_"Is he.. Are you, like, seventy-five percent sure that Trevor _like_ , likes the guy?" _

_"I'm one-hundred and ten percent sure Mundo likes him.. Maybe about eighty-five percent sure my innocent baby-" he paused to press a closed fist to his mouth, looking like he was swallowing a mouth full of vomit. " _like_ , likes him back.. And nothing fills me with rage more than the knowledge that Mundo could quickly round that number off to the nearest hundred with just a smile and a.." _

_"Kiss?" Rey added, watching closely as Konnan visibly deflated._

_"Yeah."_

_"I know it's hard to.. accept his very human.. urges and emotions, but I'm only a call away if you need to talk it out with someone. Don't bottle it all up to the point where you can't do anything but scream. It's not healthy, and I'm starting to get a little.. a lot.. worried about you."_

_Konnan nodded, reaching out a hand to latch back onto his friend's floaty and holding on tight. "Well.. there _is_ one thing I can think of that you could do to help me.." _

_"And what might that be? You want me to threaten Johnny's manhood? Steal his bike? Give him the big ol' 619?"_

_"No, no. But I like the way you think." He smirked deviously._

_"Just tell me before I get up and leave you here all alone."_

_"Fine, fine.. I need you and Azteca to tail them tomorrow when they're out on patrol. Don't worry, it'll just be for the first couple of days. Nothing too major."_

_"But I thought you trusted Trevor?.. It'll really upset him if he finds out you sent his uncle and his partner after him on his first day on the job."_

_"Of course I trust him, Rey! It's that- that _gringo_ I don't trust! He could kill my baby, or- or worse, try coming onto him!"_

_"You're crazy.." Rey muttered, shaking his head at how insane his friend is. Tail his nephew and his partner, huh? Sounds like a real disaster to him. "And trust me, there's no way Azteca would ever agree to it anyway. He and Trevor are friends."_

_"Which is exactly why he'd wanna keep a close eye on him. And you're his uncle!"_

_"No. There's no way in hell I'm doing it. I trust my nephew to take control of a potentially dangerous situation if he ends up in such a thing; which isn't all that rare in our line of work."_

_"Pleeeassee?" The old man whined, hands clasped together as if he were praying._

_"No."_

_"Oh, c'mon, Rey! You and Azteca could always go under cover in a inconspicuous looking car that won't draw too much attention to you guys. Trevor'd never even have to know about it as long as you two are real sneaky and stay well hidden."_

_Rey was slowly crumbling, each of Konnan's pleas for help bringing him closer to agreeing to help him with his sick, twisted plan. He's only heard good things about Johnny, well, unless Konnan's words count.. he's said some pretty awful and insane things about the guy to Rey. Things that didn't exactly make sense unless you were insane yourself.  
He trusted his nephew to stay out of trouble and take control of a dangerous situation, or even let Mundo handle things for the first couple of disturbance calls they have to report to, just to make sure he knows what he's doing. So why did he feel like he had to do such a crazy thing for him? Tail his nephew around town on his first day? He knows he'd be angry beyond belief if his boss had sent undercover cops out to follow him on his first day of patrol._

_"I.. I really don't want to betray his trust, Konnan. And neither should you. He's a strong, smart guy, and if Mundo or anyone else tries making an unwanted move on him, I'm sure he could handle himself just fine."_

_"I'm sensing a but.." Konnan said, voice full of hope._

_"But.. you're an asshole, and I think might be saying yes.. But! I'll have to run things past Azteca before I can give you a definitive answer."_

_"That's good enough for me, Rey Rey." Konnan smiled, pulling his floating friend into a hug. Something that he only ever does once in a blue moon._

_"Ick, get off me!" Even as Rey pushed his friend off, he was smiling. It was very rare for the older man to show anyone but his son affection. It seemed as though it usually made him very uncomfortable to go any further than a handshake with.. anyone._

_"Ah- my bad.. I just- yeah. I slipped up there."_

_"It's fine, Konnan. You know it's alright to hug me when we're not half-naked and wet, right?"  
Konnan turned away from him and began doggy paddling along with the current of the river, not looking behind him as he answered Rey's question. _

_"I know. I just don't like cooties."_

_They ended up staying in the lazy river for the remainder of their visit to the water park, Konnan even managing to find the little punk who stole his inner tube, and stealing it back from over his head._

_And when they were finally ready to leave, they met up with Azteca and Trevor over by their overpriced jumbo sized locker they'd rented earlier that day. It wasn't their planned meeting place, seeing as they didn't actually plan ahead whatsoever, but it somehow just came together._

_"You two have fun?" Rey asked, gaze trained on his partner even though he was speaking to his nephew as well._

_It was Azteca who ended up answering for them. "Lots. We went on the biggest, craziest slides!"_

_"And now we're _starving_!" Moaned Trevor, a hand rubbing at his chiseled abs and empty stomach. _

_Konnan was still looking, and probably feeling, off due to being asked so many questions about his son's.. love life and policing career which, now that Rey thought about it, weren't all that different from each other. They both had to do with Johnny Mundo, the man he'd be tailing tomorrow afternoon.  
The older man had been very quiet up until the point where he heard that someone was _hungry_. _

_"Great, I rent a locker expensive enough to break the bank, and now you want _food_ too!? _

_Rey sighed at how insane his friend is, placing a hand on his arm to get his attention and hopefully calm him down a little. "Konnan, it's okay. You paid for the locker, so I'll pay for the food. We could even just skip the crappy pizza here and go to a diner or something. That sound good, boys?" He looked Azteca and his nephew for confirmation._

_"Yeah, yeah. We could even buy our own food, Rey. It's fine." Trevor said, polite as always._

_Azteca had quite a different reaction than Trevor, hand on his hips and eyes narrowed at no one in particular, though Rey could take a guess at who he was unhappy with. "Speak for yourself, kid. I'm starving, and Rey here's buying me a burger cause he owes me big time."_

_"Yeah.. it's true. Azteca's paid for dinner the last couple of times we've been out together." Rey said, hand nervously scratching at the back of his neck._

_"You mean like- been _out_ together? Like a date or something?" Asked a curious, and slightly grossed out Konnan. His poor soul just couldn't take any more surprises that day. _

_"No!" Azteca and Rey shouted in unison. Rey sent his partner a look that said "let me handle this", and turned back to his nephew and the old man. "I mean, like, being out on patrol. Jeez."_

_"Yeah, this idiota keeps forgetting his wallet!" Azteca muttered, pointing at his red in the face partner. "And if he keeps forgetting it, I don't see why he should even be _allowed_ to drive the damn squad car." _

_"Okay.. I guess we can forget about this whole conversation and have Rey Rey buy us some food, sound good?" Konnan said, unlocking the locker they'd rented earlier that day. All four backpacks fell out at once, the old man's making a really loud shattering sound. Must be that damn mini tequila bottle again._

_"Yeah.. let's also try and forget that you snuck a mini tequila bottle into the water park, Dad." Said Trevor, who was already bending over to grab his own backpack off the hard, dirty ground._

_"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's go, mijo." Konnan grumbled in reply, picking his own soiled bag that's innards are likely covered in glass and alcohol._

_Rey sure wasn't looking forward to having to convince his partner to trail Trevor and the other copper with him tomorrow. That's gonna be.. a very difficult conversation to lead seeing as Azteca and Trevor are kinda friends and all._

"No, I think we should stay back and observe. See if Pentagon does anything. Not that he ever has, or has any reason to." 

Rey had spoke too soon. The very moment the words had left his mouth Pentagon Dark looked directly at him, making eye contact for a millisecond before lunging at Trevor, tricking the young copper into reaching for his nightstick at the same time he turned backwards to mule kick him directly in the face.   
Trevor fell to the ground in heap, hands automatically reaching up to clutch at his face where it'd gotten kicked with the full two-hundred fifty pounds of force Pentagon was packing. 

Johnny looked conflicted, wondering for a second whether or not he should check on his partner or do something to try and apprehend the emo clown. He didn't have much time to think as Pentagon began screaming words in Spanish, going around to his back and jumping on him with his knees pressed up right behind where his lungs are located, hands grasping onto his shoulders, and falling backwards onto his own back, the copper flopping right off of him after getting all of the wind blown outta him. 

Rey didn't know what to do as he was transfixed by the horrific scene playing out before him. Pentagon was now getting off the ground, paying no mind to his own back as he rolled Johnny onto his front and pressed his knees into the copper's back, hands grabbing onto his right arm and holding it tightly, about to pull it back and likely snap it when he was all of a sudden shoved off by a concussed Trevor who'd somehow managed to get to his feet. The young police officer pulled out his taser, about to activate it when Pentagon up and kicked it straight outta his hands, running off in the direction of the black car Rey and Azteca were camped out in. 

He was shaken out of his reverie by the sound of a car door opening. He looked to his right, seeing his partner about to get out of the car, and stopping him with a firm grip on his arm. "No, Azteca. He's coming this way, we can get him." 

"Are you crazy!?" Yelled his partner, who was trying to wretch himself from Rey's vice-like grip. "Let go of me, man! They're getting their asses whooped out there!" 

"Three...two..one!" Rey counted down, opening his door on the last count and watching it slam directly into Pentagon Dark's face, sending him sprawling to the ground, most definitely knocked out. "C'mon," he said, motioning for his partner to follow him out of the car and apprehend the criminal. 

He got down into a crouching position and, with the help of his partner, flipped the two-hundred-plus pound man onto his front and grabbed his handcuffs out of the holster on his utility belt he'd paired with his civvies that day, then pulled the mans arms behind his back and slid the cold metal cuffs around his sizable wrists, listening to the sound of them clicking once they got to the tightest setting possible. 

"Help me get 'im up, would ya?" Rey said, receiving a nod in response from his still-befuddled partner. Together they heaved the man into a standing position, the older cop then making a grab for the cars rear door handle and nearly dropping the perp in the process. Luckily for him, his partner is smart and caught the insanely heavy man, holding him up against the car until Rey got the door open so they could lay his limp body across the back seats. 

"We can call them an EMT on the way to the precinct, Azteca. We can't let this guy wake up before we get there. Understand?"   
His partner nodded shakily, glancing toward Trevor and his partner one last time and seeing the former kneeling beside Mundo, hands cradling the mans head as he frantically spoke to him, before a serious expression settled on his face and he got in the passengers side door, grabbing his handheld police radio and calling it in. It seems as though seeing Trevor and his partner injured and focused on making sure the other is alright broke him right out of his funk and got him back to being the Azteca he knew and loved. The one who was good in a crises. 

 

They promptly arrived at the police precinct, a passed out Pentagon Dark being held up by just the two of 'em. The doors were opened by someone who was exiting the building, only mildly freaked out by the man who haunts the strip mall not five miles away from the station. 

They approached a vaguely familiar pair of officers who were conversing with one another, one blond and the other a brunet. The pairs conversation was quickly cut off by an authoritative Rey who was very straight to the point with them. 

"Get him looked over and taken care of by someone, would ya? We need to talk to the captain, and this one lashed out at a couple of his officers today, not a pretty scene. Soon as he's up, I want him in an interrogation room with me asking the questions. Capiche?" 

"Uh.. uh, yeah- Yes sir, will do." Replied the brunet. 

"Thank you, officer.."

"Black. Uh, PJ black. And this is my partner Jack Evans." He said, gesturing to the blond man standing beside him. 

"Hold this, would you?" Rey said, handing off the limp body of Pentagon Dark to the two officers he now knew to be PJ and Jack. The pairs reflexes kicked in, and muttering a quiet "shit", they caught him just in time before he could fall to the door and become even more injured than he already was. "Thanks." 

He gestured for for his partner to walk ahead of him towards Konnan's office. Best friends or not, he's gonna get his ass kicked for allowing any harm to come to the old man's son, and his nephew. Hopefully, that EMT they called in had arrived promptly to inspect the damage inflicted to the the two officers. And in the case that something went wrong and Trevor or Johnny got horribly injured to the point of needing to be rushed to the ER.. well, Rey'd be the one to kick his own ass for being so naive and careless. He was supposed to observe and protect his nephew while staying hidden and not revealing himself, but ended up failing on the most important task. 

Standing before the cloudy glass door of his best friends office, Rey turned to his partner and saw the shame in his dark eyes. He placed a warm hand on the younger mans back, keeping his voice soft and gentle as he consoled him. "It's not your fault, Azteca. I told you not to do anything.. so if either of us is to take the blame, I will honorably accept it all. I- that was my nephew and his partner back there.. and- and I got distracted and let it all happen. All I really did to help was apprehend the criminal." 

Azteca chuckled darkly, grabbing his partner's wrist and pulling his hand off of his back, his grip loose yet still firm on his arm. "Which basically makes him my nephew too. You may've held me back, but I blame myself, Rey. I had my head in the game the whole time.. and yet I let Trevor get kicked in the face, his partner receiving the beating of his life. We'll split the blame half-and-half, alright? It'll help ease my guilty conscience." 

"Azteca.. you called the EMT's. You did _something_. So don't you dare discount your efforts to help.. our nephew. For all we know, he could've suffered a concussion, and thanks to you.. he's getting the help he needs." 

Azteca's grip on his partner's wrist tightened as he felt the weight of his words. "Let's- let's just.. go in and accept whatever gets thrown our way. You with me, Rey Rey?" 

"One-hundred percent." 

Rey turned the doorknob as slowly as he possibly could to prolong the inevitable, his other arm still being held by his partner. The second he and Konnan made eye contact, the old man slammed the corded phone that'd been pressed against his ear back into its cradle, a loud "fuck" slipping past his lips that had Rey and his partner backing up a few steps. 

"That- that _bastardo! _That- that-" Konnan cut himself off, face as red as a fire truck. He breathed raggedly as he stood from his swivel office chair and slipped his arms through the sleeves of his overcoat, still not noticing their presence. "-that **MUNDO!** " he screamed at the top of his lungs while simultaneously full force kicking the side of his desk. The old man clutched at his foot while hopping around the room with the other not-damaged one, eyes glancing upward only to see his best friend and his partner clutching at each others arms. A look of complete and utter embarrassment came across his features. "Did- did you hear about what that god damn _gringo_ let happen to my baby!?" __

__Rey stepped in front of his partner, head bowed in shame. "Yes.. I know. And it wasn't Mundo's fault, I kinda got distracted and.. and the lunatic kicked him in the face. Johnny didn't have anything to do with what happened to Trevor. In fact, he tried to help him, which got the crap kicked outta him too. So don't go blaming the poor guy, Konnan. It was all m-"_ _

__"Shut up, Rey. I don't want to hear any excuses! My baby is in the hospital with a " _minor_ " concussion that may as well be a crack running down his body from head to toe! I will end Mundo once and for all and there's nothing anybody can do to stop me!" _ _

__"Konnan! Listen to me for a second. Pentagon gave him the concussion, not Johnny. I brought him in for questioning, and you can press charges-"_ _

__"Out of my _way_. I have to drive to the hospital, you watch the place while I'm gone." Konnan said, pushing past Rey and Azteca. _ _

__He grabbed the old man's arm, holding it tightly to stop him from leaving. "Pentagon beat Mundo up when he tried to defend Trevor, you can ask the lunatic yourself."_ _

__"Oh, yes. What a great idea, Rey. I'll do that at the hospital, seeing as Mundo's there too. He got an even worse concussion than my baby, even suffering from a few bruised ribs himself."_ _

__Rey closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before facing the angry and worried man. He placed his hands on either of his arms to keep the old man -and himself- grounded and in present time._ _

__"You're in no condition to be driving. I'll- I'll take you myself. And don't even try to argue about this with me, Konnan. You're worried, scared, and angry. And I get that.. I am too. I let this happen, and I want nothing more than to be there for my nephew and his injured partner. So you're gonna leave someone else in charge, and Azteca and I are gonna take you down to the hospital, alright?"_ _

__Konnan crumbled before him, stumbled forward and pulled him into a tight embrace. He felt little droplets of water fall to his neck and wished oh-so badly for the older man to get it through his thick skull that _he_ was the idiota responsible for his nephew's injury. _ _

__"We should.. we should really get going." Azteca said, a warm hand on Rey's shoulder. He's likely enough feeling what his partner is feeling._ _

___guilt_. _ _

__And he doesn't know how he could possibly face his nephew without the younger man- _his partner_ , his number one, and his better half by his side. They'd manage themselves together. Just like they always did. _ _

__"Everything's gonna be fine, Konnan. Trevor's the strongest little fighter I know." Rey whispered into the elders ear, still rubbing and patting his cushy back._ _


	5. Intimate gestures And Pudding Cups

Trevor awoke to the sound of a heart monitor beeping steadily, and, looking to his left, he saw a closed curtain separating himself from another patient. What on earth hap- oh yeah, Pentagon Dark happened.  
He heaved himself up into a sitting position and swung his legs over to the side of the uncomfortable bed, crisp white sheets slipping down his legs to lay atop the bright, white floor. And as his bare feet made contact with the cold floor, a shiver ran through his body, going straight to his head and reminding him exactly _why_ he was in a hospital. He'd been too eager to have his first confrontation that he'd gotten ahead of himself and ended up getting his partner and himself in harms way. 

Speaking of Johnny, where is he? A low groan that sounded from the bed not three feet away from him answered his question. 

He took slow steps toward the curtain with bated breath, scared of what lies beyond. His fingers fumbled to pull apart the fabric separating himself from what he hopes is his partner. Immediately, his eyes landed on the white bandages wrapped around the man's head, long locks of brown hair in disarray. His gaze then drifted down toward where he could just barley see the indentations of bandages wrapped around his ribs beneath the thin fabric of his blue hospital gown. 

_Trevor followed his partner out of the squad car, walking up behind him as the elder of the two approached the masked man they call Pentagon Dark. An arm was placed in front of his chest that stopped him from getting any closer to the maniac in black and white, who was squatting down low -not unlike a sumo wrestler ready to inflict some damage on his opponent- as he circled civilians and spoke Spanish phrases._

_"You should.. you should really stay back a couple of feet and observe things for your first couple of confrontations, alright, Trev?" Said his slightly worried, yet still confident and authoritative partner._

_He nodded, following Johnny at a slower pace than he usually would. They soon came face-to-face with Pentagon Dark, Johnny taking the lead in the conversation while the instigator merely stared at him with narrowed eyes, hands on his hips in a defensive position._

_"Hate to break it to you, buddy, but you really gotta leave. You're disturbing the peace and frightening civilians."  
The masked man merely blinked in response, shifting his weight to his other foot, likely bored by the copper. I mean, after having the same exact conversation multiple weeks in a row it's bound to get boring, right? _

_"I really don't wanna have to arrest you, but if I have to, I wi-"  
The masked maniacs eyes did a thing, looking passed the copper, then directly at Trevor. He pushed Mundo out of the way and lunged at the young cop, making him automatically reach for his baton. And while he was momentarily distracted, the maniac turned backwards, sending an insanely powerful mule kick to his face that sent him to the ground in a heap, hands clutching at his concussed head. That sorta move was something only an experienced fighter could properly execute. _

_As he lied on the ground suffering in pain, he was just barley able to make out the image of Pentagon Dark leaping onto his partner's back, knees pressed hard into where he lungs are located, and hands gripping at his shoulders. He then pulled Mundo down with him to the ground, Pentagon's back making direct contact with the concrete, and the cop's back making contact with his knees. He practically bounced right off the emo clown, falling to the ground with his head making contact with the hard surface just before the rest of him did._

_He watched as Pentagon got up without a hitch, flipping Johnny over onto his front and pressing his knees into his back. He then grabbed Mundo's arm, holding it in his vice-like grip, about to yank it backwards with the full force of his stocky body, likely hard enough to break it. At the horrific sight of his newly appointed partner being in a state of immense pain, he found the strength within to will himself to his feet and shove the maniac off of him, sending him to the ground._

_The lunatic quickly sprang to his feet, charging at him and nearly getting in a hit before Trevor dodged and grabbed his taser, about to activate it, when it got kicked right out of his hands and landed over six feet away from him. Before he could even _think_ of the possibility of reaching for his gun, in came the thought of his partner suffering from a major concussion as well as a bruised back and some ribs. In that moment, he didn't care that the criminal was getting away. All he cared about was making sure that his partner was _alive_ after what he'd been put through. _

_He got down on his knees beside the long haired man, hands automatically reaching out for his head. He knew that you weren't supposed to move yours or someone else's head around much if they were concussed, but he didn't care. His hands were on either side of Johnny's head, clutching at him with fingers tangled in his messy locks of hair as he spoke frantically to him, anxiety spiking when the other man didn't even react one bit._

_"John! J-johnny!" He whimpered out, getting closer to his chest to press his ear up against it. He was breathing fine, if not shallowly. Chest rising and falling in beat with the air that escaped his parted lips. He lightly placed his partner's head back on the ground, looking back at least ten times as he stumbled on over to the squad car where he'd then call an ambulance._

_He waited by Johnny's side for the blinking lights of the ambulance to arrive._

_"John..", were his last words before his vision went black around the edges and the faint sounds of voices speaking faded to nothingness, as he was being strapped down to a stretcher and was loaded into an ambulance himself._

"John.." he breathed out, stumbling forward and nearly falling atop his sleeping partner. He was brought back into reality by a hand clasped around his wrist. The injured man's grip was loose, yet still firm for someone who was injured as badly as he was. 

"Don't go.." whispered the long-haired man lying in bed. His eyes were closed, and he looked to be sleeping, but here he was, holding on tight to the only thing keeping him sane. It felt as if something had shifted between them, like some unspoken rule had been broken the minute they both got their asses kicked by Pentagon Dark. They now had a shared horrible experience that would likely enough never fade from their memory for as long as they lived. 

"I won't." He replied breathlessly.  
With Johnny's hand still gripping his wrist, he carefully sat down beside him on the bed, being extra careful not to bump or move him around too much. He wouldn't want to exasperate the pain in his already bruised and bandaged ribs. They both stayed silent for quite some time, the only sounds being their heart monitors and their heavy breathing. It was.. dare he say comforting? To be able to hear the thrum of the others heartbeat loud and clear, as opposed to how slow and ragged it was earlier in the day. He didn't care if it made it sound as if he's been partnered up with Mundo for longer than half a day, or if it sounded too.. Never mind that train of thought. All that mattered was that they were both alive and.. mostly alright. 

"Say.. uh, how's your head doing?" Asked the man lying in bed with one eye shut and the other one only half open. Trevor couldn't help but let a little laugh escape his hoarse throat. 

"I should be asking you the same thing, John." At that, he felt the injured man's fingers twitch where they rested atop his pulse point. Did he just.. was he checking his pulse?.. The thought was both troubling and.. dare he say _endearing?_ "You took a, uh.. a pretty bad hit back there." 

Johnny's eyes fell closed once more, his fingers now relaxing a little more now that he was more.. relaxed? "No kidding, Trev. I seriously thought that I was gonna die for a minute there.. I've been shot at, assaulted, nearly stabbed, and had many other bad things happen to me while on the job.. but never in my whole _life_ have I had.. those kinds of deadly moves performed on me. Well, unless Greco counts. I kinda wrestled in High School, and college, but it was nothing quite as advanced as that shit Pentagon pulled on me back there." 

He could barely form a coherent response after hearing those little details of his partner's life, too focused on how much it matched up with his own. Well, at least the parts about wrestling in High School, and in college, but not so much the whole.. getting shot at and.. yeah. 

"I.. I also thought you were gonna.. yeah. I thought you were a goner for a minute there." 

The sleepy man's lips quirked into a lazy smile, his heavy hand sliding down Trevor's wrist to his wrap around his hand. He felt his thumb stroke the back of his hand, roughened from his line of work, yet softer than he'd been expecting. Not that he'd ever expected to be.. holding hands with him.  
He couldn't do much other than watch the intimate display of affection and try to steady his ragged breathing. Mundo really shouldn't be affecting him so much, but here he was; holding his hand and succeeding in leaving him speechless. And with very little oxygen making it's way to his brain, he wasn't thinking straight and ended up gripping the hand tightly in his own. 

"You were worried about me, huh?"  
Trevor snapped out of his daze, loosening his grip on Mundo's hand. He didn't retract it, instead deciding to relish the warmth radiating off the elders hand for however long he felt like it. 

"Yeah.. you kinda worry about someone when you see their head hit the ground full force." 

"I- I.." Johnny started, looking as if he were about to pass out from being so tired, though somehow managed to keep from doing so with the help of his partner's hand keeping him grounded. "I was- _am_ worried about you too, Trev. Pentagon.. he seriously hurt you." 

He slipped his hand out of that of the injured man's, and turned slightly to get a better look at him. It was _bad_ , now that he really got a closer look at him. And with Johnny's eyes closed, he could really see the beginnings of a black eye forming on his left one. His right arm was also wrapped, likely from getting a little strained from all the pressure the black clothed maniac had put on it. The bandages on his head looked to be coming loose on one end, so he lifted both hands to his partner's head and began the process of gently tucking the ends back under the rest of the bandaging. "How bad is it, John?" He whispered, hands still on either side of the sleepy man's head. For some inexplicable reason he just couldn't take them away.. couldn't stop staring at the mess of a man before him. And if Johnny hadn't taken the big beating from the lunatic in black, he's sure he would've gotten it instead. 

Eyes still closed, yet now a little tensed up looking, Johnny raised the hand with his pulse oximeter clip on it and brought it up to rest over one of his partner's that was lightly cradling the side of his head. Much like when he was passed out in pain after Pentagon beat him to a pulp. "I can.. barley stay awake, but I'd much rather be in pain and be able to feel and hear you, than to be asleep and feel my bruised ribs and messed up head try to slowly kill me." 

"H-how's your ribs doing?" It's the only thing he could've said without breaking down and.. he doesn't actually know what would follow that. He just knows he would've broken down. 

"They hurt with every move I make, and every breath I take. But it's nothing compared to the pounding in my head. God, I really need some more painkilling.. medicine stuff." 

Trevor's hands moved on their own accord, lightly scratching at his injured partner's scalp just below where the bandaging ends. And judging from the breathy moan and groan he drew out from him, he'd say it was appreciated. 

"As much as I.. appreciate this, Trevor, you really need to get some sleep. No doubt our.. families are gonna be giving us an earful soon." 

He blinked a couple of times in response, his head hurting too much to nod an affirmative. "I really should get some sleep.. but, uh, can I.." he trailed off, releasing his hold on his partner's head and looking like he was gonna say something along the lines of "forget about it", so Johnny grabbed ahold of his wrist and kept him close. 

"What is it, Trev? I'm gonna pass out any minute now, so I'd kinda like to hear what you have to say."

"I was.. can I touch your- your ribs? Just to see if they're alright?.." he felt insecure and maybe even a little insane as Johnny's eyes fluttered open to stare back at him, a soft look in his deep brown orbs. He led the hand that he was, once again, holding over to the most damaged and bandaged up section of his ribs. 

"Only if I get to touch yours.. uh, your head." 

"Deal." Trevor whispered in reply. He leaned in closer to his partner, giving him to opportunity to feel his damaged, bandaged up head beneath his gentle fingertips that seemed to be afraid of applying too much pressure and squishing him like a grape. He let out a breathy laugh, and gingerly felt around the man's hospital gown, searching for the section of his ribs that were wrapped up. 

"Here, lemme." Johnny said, reaching an arm slightly behind his back to untie the midsection of his hospital gown so that he could then pull it aside and allow his partner better access to his injury. Trevor didn't say anything as he allowed his fingers to lightly dance across the man's purple and red bruises. They were huge, and the bandaging only covered so much of it. Maybe if he hadn't of gotten the first hit from Pentagon.. maybe he'd be in Johnny's place instead of the unfair way it turned out to be. 

"That- that's enough." Johnny said, breathing unsteadily out of his mouth and nose. Is it possible that Trevor was applying to much pressure to the injured spot when he was.. lost in thought? 

"Sorry, John. Didn't mean to.." Johnny stopped the ramble with a hand on his back. 

"It's fine, Trev. I just.. we really need to get some sleep after what we've been through. Sound like a plan?" Right as he finished speaking, his eyes fell shut and his heavy breathing evened out. 

"Sleep tight." Trevor whispered into the room devoid of other people who could pry, or tell him what to do. And since his father wasn't there.. well, he couldn't stop his son from planting a quick kiss on Mundo's cheek. The.. intimate gesture brought the smallest of sleepy smiles he's ever seen to the comatose man's face. Meaning that he'll probably remember it when he wakes up..  
Great, just one more thing for Johnny to hold against him. 

He sat there for a couple more minutes, just looking at the man he now calls his partner. He's damaged beyond belief, but he's alive. He smiled to himself, feeling his eyes moisten with unshed tears as he reached out a hand to cover up the long-haired man's bruised up ribs with his hospital gown, as well as the white blanket that was pooled around his bare thighs.  
After that, he ended up slipping back into his own bed, but not before calling over a nurse to have his partner looked over once more. 

-

Once they were both awake and stable, a nurse asked if they'd be alright with having a few visitors. Trevor hesitated, wondering if having his father see him in this state was a good idea. No man wants to see his son in pain, bandaged up and laying in a hospital bed with his enemy not three feet away from him. 

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Just.. make sure my dad doesn't come in alone. He doesn't react well to seeing me in pain."

The nodded nodded, soon coming back with Konnan, Rey, and Azteca. His uncle and his partner stood on either side of his father, practically holding the middle-aged man upright as they approached his uncomfortable hospital bed. 

"Baby.." his father breathed out, legs shaky and unstable. He couldn't help but notice the dried tear tracks on the man's face. The poor guy must've been pretty shaken up when he got the phone call about his son being in the hospital with a concussion and mild bruising. He was carefully lowered down into the lone chair beside the bed, a cute, medium-sized mountain lion toy in his shaky hands. "Uh, here." Konnan mumbled, setting the cute puma toy atop the bed beside his son. 

"Thanks, Dad." He smiled tiredly, pulling the plush toy close to his chest. He used to have a toy that looked a _lot_ like it when he was younger, but it ended up getting lost or stolen at school. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what looked to be Johnny's twin brother PJ, and his partner Jack being led to his bed, the curtain pulled closed on the side closest to Trevor. 

Rey and Azteca looked at him with their heads bowed in what looked to be shame, and his father looked at him with what looked to be a mixture of crippling sadness and worry. Trevor could no longer take the pain of being so close, yet so far away from him, so he reached out a hand to grip his father's tightly. It was a long while before the old man dared to speak a word. He just sat there holding his son's hand, paying no mind to the men standing beside him. 

"Mijo.." he started, eyes not quite meeting his. They were instead trained on his stark white bedsheets. "I- I came here ready to bash Mundo's head in with my fists, but now that I'm really here.. all I can do is thank the lord that my baby's alive." He watched two tears slide down his father's cheek and fall to his lap where the moisture would then be absorbed by his suit pants. Seeing his father acting so unlike himself pained him a lot more than his concussion did. It brought him physical pain to watch his old-man suffer. 

"It's uh, good to know you're being civil with John, Dad. He's- he's got it bad.. I didn't think he was gonna make it, if I'm being honest. Scared the hell outta me."  
Instead of going off on a rant about how horrible and disgusting Johnny is, Konnan did his little calm-down routine.. twice.. before meeting his son's sad eyes. 

"I know, baby. I may.. hate his guts and want him to die, but that doesn't mean.. What I'm trying to say is-" he cut himself off with a loud sigh, releasing his son's hand to lean in closer and pull him into a tight hug while still trying his best not to touch his bruised skin or injured head. It's all he could do to express his understanding for how.. shaken up and scared his son must've felt, and must still be feeling after what'd happened to him and his partner. 

His father by no means _liked_ , or even felt _bad_ for Mundo. He was merely tolerating his existence for the time being for the sake of his grieving son. And the minute he was healed, Konnan would be eating him alive like the barbarian he is. But for now.. he knew this is what his baby really needed and wanted from him. 

Trevor was frozen in place in his father's arms, not making a move for an alarming amount of time until he finally understood what his old-man was trying to convey via his warm touch. He slipped his arms around the big lug's back and firmly squeezed and patted it, his belly and throat tightening at the thought of his partner dying and it being his fault. And judging by the way Johnny had checked his pulse and held his hand tight earlier in the day, he felt the same exact way. 

"I- I think I get what you're trying to say, Dad.. and I appreciate the, uh.. armistice, even if it's only a one-sided war that shouldn't even be happening in the first place." 

"Shush, mijo. Let me have this moment."  
Trevor didn't say another word, deciding to instead listen to his father who he loved with all his heart, and stay there in his arms, inhaling his cologne that was oh-so familiar and kept him grounded in times such as this one. Times when all he wanted to do was cry, and his father would gently coax the tears out of him while holding him tight. This was apparently one of those moments, he realized as he began to cry. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Rey and Azteca standing off to the side and trying to look interested in a random poster hung on the wall, hands shakily fiddling with the plush toys they'd likely brought for him. 

And since he loved and cared about them very much, and wasn't afraid to shed a few tears in front of them, he called out their names, asking if they felt up to having a group hug. 

"Yeah, Trevy. I just.. _we_ just wanted to give you and your dad a moment alone. Didn't think you'd want us intruding or anything." Rey said, grabbing his partner by the arm and leading him over to their injured nephew. They set down the little toys they'd bought for him atop his bed, then leaned in close to join the group hug. 

"I'm- I'm really glad you and your partner are alright, Trev." Azteca said, voice coming out sounding nervous and slightly choked up. 

"So am I.. I was really worried about him. Still am. And, uh, when I first woke up earlier, I realized he was in the same room as me. Just behind the other curtain." Trevor replied, not caring one bit if his father would have a negative reaction to the thought of his son worrying about the "devil" and searching for him only to find that he's in the same room as him. Didn't care if he started asking questions concerning waking up and being in the same room as him. He could almost hear the many questions about whether or not Mundo tried pulling any cheap moves on him while he was drugged-out, or even flat out blaming his partner for the incident. But he didn't hear any such words come from his father. He only felt the warmth radiating off the man's body until he pulled away to sit back down in his chair. 

After all three of his loved ones had pulled away from him, staying close by while also making sure to give him his space, he picked up the small white seal toy Azteca had gotten for him. It was adorable, and had the cutest little plastic black nose and eyes. After admiring it closely for a moment, he then grabbed Rey's gift; a medium-sized striped grey kitty. He had to let out a laugh at how strange, yet cute it looked. The laughter also helped to stop any more tears from escaping his tired eyes. 

"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate the gifts and all.. but- uh, never mind." He cut himself off, eyes glancing toward his partner's bed that had the curtains pulled shut for a moment before he was back to looking down at all the plush toys laying across his chest. He wouldn't dare reveal his thoughts in front of his father, knowing it'd only give the old man one more thing to worry about. For all he knew, his father was probably still in shock. 

"What is it, mijo? Do you not like the mountain lion? Cause I could always exchange-" 

"No, Dad, it's fine. It's really cute, actually. I was just.. I'm really tired."  
His father, and uncles didn't look 100% convinced, but luckily didn't push the subject any further. The kid was injured and needed some sleep, so sleep he would get. 

"Kids right Konnan, we should let him rest. And visiting hours are almost over anyway." Rey said, a hand on the old man's shoulder to grab his attention. He winked at Trevor, letting him know that he was gonna help him out with.. whatever it was he wanted, but didn't feel comfortable talking about in front of his father. 

"I.. I really don't want to leave my poor, suffering baby alone with- with _Mundo_ here... but if it's what he really wants, then I guess I'll stay for as long as I can and come back tonight to visit again." Replied a worried and overprotective Konnan. 

Tired and unwilling to move his mouth unless completely necessary, Trevor merely hummed to acknowledge his father's words that weren't completely directed toward him, even if his eyes _were_ looking right at him when he spoke. 

Konnan, after another ten or so minutes of holding his son's hand and staring at him while trying not to cry, finally heaved himself up from the chair that he'd left a sweaty butt print on. He was rather.. quiet for his little visit, and that worried him a little. Okay, a _lot_. He didn't even overreact to the mention of Johnny! Which was the most worrying thing of all.. The middle-aged man was likely bottling up all of his emotions, waiting for the perfect moment to explode and release all his rage onto Mundo. 

His father got real close to him and leaned in for a long half-hug. "I love you, Trevy. Sleep tight and don't let that dirty little sleazebag anywhere near you." He then pressed a kiss to the top of his son's bandaged up head while being careful not to injure him any further. 

Trevor couldn't refrain from rolling his eyes at the ridiculous statement. It's not like Johnny was in any state to be moving, let alone standing up and walking three feet, in his condition. So why did Konnan have to say it as if Mundo would magically peel his practically dead body off the hospital bed and.. cop a feel while he's sleeping?.. Even if he could walk, he wouldn't do such a thing. There's no signs pointing toward him being anything more than slightly creepy, and he thinks he knows why he acts way while in his presence..

"Dad, he can barely _move_. So tell me how exactly you expect him to walk three feet over to me and.. what? Cop a feel while I'm sleeping? Maybe kidnap me and stuff my body in the trunk of his car?" 

His father's eyes narrowed slightly at the questions his son was spewing out of his mouth. " _No_ , I mean.. y'know.. Maybe he'll try to plant one on-" 

"That's enough, Dad. I love you too, and I'll see you when visiting hours are open again." Trevor said, leaving no room for argument. His old-man sighed, pressing a kiss to his son's head one more time before peeling himself away from him and heading toward the door with Azteca by his side, only looking back after every step he took. 

"I hope you feel better, Trev.." Azteca said before ducking out the door with the middle-aged man and leaving him alone with his uncle Rey. 

Once he deemed the coast to be clear, his uncle came closer to the bed and leaned in to his nephew's space. "So, what was it you didn't wanna say in front of your old-man?" 

Trevor didn't hesitate one second before spilling the beans. "I want you to buy a really big stuffed animal from the gift shop." 

"You want me to exchange the little kit-" 

"No, no, I love Whiskers. I just.. I wanted to get a little.. a _big_ something for John. He- he nearly _died_ today, Rey. And- and if he hadn't of tried to do something to defend me.." he trailed off, hoping his uncle would get the message already and do as he asked. Rey nodded, a sad, yet understanding look on his face. 

"I get it, Trev. I don't know how I could possibly begin to cope with the.. the everything I'd be going through if I'd been in your position with my partner.. So yeah, I'll get him something real cute." 

"Thank you, Rey.. And, uh, just leave it by my bed. And by the way, it doesn't matter how much it costs, I'll pay you back." 

"No, no, Trev. It's fine, _I'll_ pay for it." 

"But I can-" 

"It's fine, Trevor. I _want_ to pay for it. I may not know this Mundo character all that well, but from what you and everybody else aside from your father has told me, he's a really great guy who I think deserves a chance." Rey said, insistent on getting his nephew to allow him to pay for the large item.  
Trevor looked very reluctant to agree to his terms, but soon gave in due to being really tired and seriously needing to get some rest. 

"Alright, fine." He sighed, eyes glancing toward the curtain separating himself from his partner. 

"I'll try to hurry up, though. Don't wanna make Konnan and Azteca suspicious." He said with a soft chuckle. "But seriously, Trevor, take care of yourself. I love you a lot, you know that right?" Rey received a mumbled "yes" in response, taking that as his cue to get the hell outta there and buy an expensive toy.

"And.. I love you too, Rey. Take care, and try not to worry too much about me." 

Rey quickly made his leave, but not before stopping in front of Johnny's bed and just standing there for a few seconds too long before finally leaving the room. 

Trevor was about to clonk out for the rest of the afternoon, when he felt a presence beside him. He cracked open an eye and moaned painfully as the harsh light from above shown into his eyes. They really need to be more considerate of their patients and.. I don't know, maybe make the rooms less fucking bright? Yeah, that'd sure help with the headache he was getting from staring up at the ceiling. 

He turned to acknowledge the man standing beside his bed. It was Johnny's twin brother PJ. Feeling confused and slightly headachy, he squinted his eyes up at the tall figure and prepared for asking him what he wanted. "Can I.." he started, nearly passing right out, and having to squeeze his eyes shut to try and keep himself awake. "Can I, uh.. help you with something?.." 

PJ smiled sadly down at the injured man lying in bed. "I just wanted to thank you for having my brother's back back there with Pentagon.. He told me everything that happened, Trevor. Even concussed, you're caring and thoughtful. Both of which are two very important qualities to have in a.. partner. Anyways, I'm sorry for keeping you awake for so long, but I kinda got you a little something. It's really not much.. but, uh... yeah." He pulled a single flower out from behind his back, a yellow petunia to be exact. 

"Thank you.. PJ.." he mumbled in reply, trying and failing to lift his hand off the bed to make a grab for the lovely flower. 

"Oh- sorry, Trevor. Didn't think you'd be quite _this_ tired." PJ said before gently setting the flower atop his chest beside all the little toys he'd received from his family. "Anyways, I hope you get better soon. And mind keeping an eye on my brother, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid?" 

Trevor managed to give a sleepy thumbs up before passing out, and not waking up until a couple hours later when the nurse checked in to make sure he was stable, and to do a quick inspection of his injuries before leaving his side to presumably check in on the other injured man in the room. Before the nurse left the room for good, the curtain covering the side of Johnny's bed that was closest to him was pulled open to reveal the bandaged up man. His head was turned to face Trevor, his deep brown eyes that were focused intently on him slowly sliding shut. 

His eyes fell to the floor where a large stuffed kitten sat, giant eyes staring right at him. He was much too tired to walk three feet to Johnny and make the handoff, so he instead allowed himself to fall back asleep with the image of his partner's sleeping form lying a few feet away from him, alive and.. well, he was alive. Trevor's main goal was to personally give it to him before he left with his father to go home in the morning. 

-

He was still dressed in his paper-thin hospital gown -which was letting a bit of a breeze in through the backside- when he slowly and carefully dragged himself out of bed and picked the giant kitty toy off the floor. He walked three feet across the cold floor, coming up to stand beside his sleepy partner. It was evening, and Trevor was supposed to be let out of the hospital in the morning, which wasn't too long from now. He stood at the bed, wondering how he was gonna wake the sleeping cop. He didn't have much time to mull it over, as the feeling of Mundo's warm hand in his brought him back to the real world. 

"You alright, Trev?.. You look a.. you look a little pale."  
It took all he had in him to not hightail it right outta there. He allowed the others hand to linger and trace the lines on the palm of his hand for however long he felt like it. 

"I'm fine, John. Just wanted to give this to you as a little.. thank you of sorts. And to say I'm sorry, and I hope you feel better soon."  
He set the large toy down at the foot of his partner's bed, then as an after thought picked it up and moved it closer to his chest once he remembered that the long-haired man shouldn't be moving too much. 

Johnny kept his callused, yet still soft hand in his, the other going to grab the toy. Only the quietest of hisses escaped his lips at the movement, though it still worried the younger cop. It reminded him that Pentagon had never gone off the deep end and attacked anybody until he showed up.. his first day on the job and his partner is already in the hospital. 

"Hey," whispered the injured man lying in bed. It's almost like he could hear the guilty thoughts rolling around in his partner's achy head. "Don't.. don't blame yourself for anything, Trev. It's not your fault that I'm lying here with a.. yeah. It's probably just a coincidence that Penty went off the deep end on your first day. That guys got some serious problems.. and he could've attacked us for any reason, but that reason couldn't have been you existing. So please, don't blame yourself.. I- I won't be able to sleep peacefully knowing you're alone, blaming yourself for something you had no control over."  
His emotional speech paired with the hand holding Trevor's tightly, brought the younger man to his knees beside the bed. He leaned forward until his upper body was resting atop that of the injured man's, though still being cautious not to apply any pressure to his bruised ribs. His hand released Johnny's, and his arms wound around his back where his fingertips applied light pressure as he began to shake and breathe unsteadily. His partner's arms soon found their way around his back, one hand in his hair and the other rubbing at his tense back. They stayed that way for a long while, not caring that a nurse or doctor could walk in at any given moment and see them caressing one another's beaten and battered bodies. 

"I'm alive, you're alive, and that's all that matters." Johnny whispered into his ear.  
A few tears slipped out from Trevor's eyes that were bloodshot and felt very warm, falling onto the others hospital gown where they'd then be absorbed by the thin fabric. The way the salty liquid turned spots of his light blue hospital gown a darker shade of blue reminded him of how he earlier cried into his father's warm chest for similar reasons. 

"I- I feel like I have to explain myself, John. Why I'm.. such a mess. I know we haven't exactly known each other for very long, well, not unless of course you count those ten months and.. what? Seven interactions we've had? And.. and I just feel like I've been fed so many lies about you from my dad, and I just.. I just think that- that I care about you a lot for some inexplicable reason, and seeing you lying on the ground, not reacting one bit to my shouts and calls of your name, made me realize that I shouldn't have to listen to his crap anymore. I'm allowed to.. to feel, and to care about another human being who my father doesn't approve of me liking. I'm twenty-seven, I'm old enough to make my own decisions. And one of my decisions is to give you a chance, and become your friend and partner."  
His long, emotional ramble left Johnny speechless with tears in his eyes. Some of the first ones he's shed since being admitted to the hospital. He kept his strong arms wrapped around his partner's back, though his comforting rubbing movements did momentarily pause. 

"I- I'd like that, too. Uh, being your friend and- and partner, that is." Johnny said, only slightly butchering the English language.

"My dad's gonna be here soon, John. I better, uh.." 

"I thought you said you don't care what he has to say.." 

Trevor pulled away from the hug, slowly getting to his feet as to not make himself dizzier than he already was. He sat beside his partner on the bed, sliding his hand with the pulse oximeter into his. The plastic bits bumped and made them chuckle before the younger man remembered what the other had said moments before and sobered up. I don't care what he says.. but I also don't want to give him a heart attack. We'll ease him into this, alright, John?" 

The response he got from him was another soft kiss to the hand. Though it was different, being that it was a kiss to the palm of his hand this time, and lingered. 

The rosy glow that rose to Trevor's cheeks was a sight to behold. Johnny admired its beauty as he spoke his next words. "Yeah, I get it. And I also get that you should get back in bed and close these curtains before he arrives and kills me."  
Trevor, not able to nod due to his head aching, smiled sadly in affirmation. 

"I think I'll keep the side closest to my bed open.. if that's alright with you." 

"Yeah- um, yeah. That's totally fine with me, T-Trevor. F-feel free to do that.. if you please. I mean, if you want to." 

He smiled at how much his partner was stumbling over his words. He gave Johnny's hand one last squeeze before he was getting up off the bed and pulling the curtains shut on each side. Well, all except for the curtain facing his bed. He left that one wide open, wanting to see that he's still.. breathing throughout the night. Wants to watch the steady rise and fall of his chest as he sleeps semi-peacefully. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning, but I'll definitely be visiting again sometime soon, John." 

"How're you planning on getting past the barbarian to do _that?_ " Johnny said as his partner climbed into his own bed then turned onto his side to face him. 

"Eh, my uncle Rey won't be too difficult to convince. Or bribe.." 

"Say goodbye before you leave, yeah?" 

"Yeah," Trevor whispered in reply, watching as the other man wound his arms around the large kitty toy he'd given him, and pulled it close to his chest to cuddle it. "Definitely." He smiled at the.. endearing? Sight, and allowed his tired eyes to fall shut with the image deeply ingrained in his mind. 

"Night, Mann." 

-

"Baby, wake up, I brought you some food." His father said, waking him from his dream about.. well, he didn't exactly know what is was about, just that it featured a smiling Johnny Mundo, as well as a dog running around a grassy field with a frisbee in its mouth. 

"Hmm?" He mumbled groggily, wiping some drool off his chin using the back of his hand. Then, realizing how gross that is, wiped his hand across the paper-thin fabric of his hospital gown. "What'd you say?" 

"I brought you some food, mijo." 

"Aren't I not allowed to eat until-" 

"I don't care what those lab coat wearing bastardo's say! My little Trevy must be starving to death! I almost lost you once.. and I'd rather not let it happen again." His father said, only getting the slightest bit choked up at the end. 

"Uh, yeah.. Thanks, Dad." He worked up a small smile and suddenly thought back to how Johnny caressed and kissed his hand not one hour ago. How he was now laying three feet away from him, chest rising and falling as he slept soundly. 

"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying? Trevor! What are you looking-" his father followed his gaze, eyes landing on the sleeping form of a certain someone he hated the guts of, a large kitty toy clutched against his chest. "Ick, how about we just close that curtain so you can enjoy your pudding cup. That sound-" 

"No." Trevor said, mouth on autopilot and running like water. "I.." he breathed heavily, trying to find the words to explain why it is he wants to have a front row seat view of his sleeping partner. "I... want- _need_ to keep an eye on him, Dad. I-I don't know why- I just- he- I-" He was now breathing raggedly, eyes watering the slightest bit as he thought back to the moment in time when his partner was lying flat on his back on the cold, hard ground after getting the beating of his life. When he was pressing his ear to his partner's chest, hoping and praying that he was still breathing. 

He felt a firm hand on his knee, bringing him back into present time. "You.." his father started, expression pinched and conflicted. "You really care about him a lot, don't you, Trevor?" 

"I-I can't explain it, Dad.. I... I also don't understand it either. I just- I just do, okay?" 

"I'm gonna try my best not to go hurl in the corner, because I love you, and you're hurting right now.. but I think I get what you're trying to say. And it breaks my heart just a little bit.. okay, a _lot_.. to see you falling into the clutches of the d- _Johnny Mundo._ " His father looked to be a little woozy as he swayed slightly from side-to-side in his chair, hands gripping at the undersides of it and turning his knuckles white. He could see just how badly his old-man wanted to open up a can of whoop-ass and unleash his fury onto the sleeping man. 

So he calmed himself down and grabbed the chocolate pudding cup from the little baggy sitting on his bed. "So.. uh, did you get this from the cafeteria?" He asked, trying his hand at changing the slightly uncomfortable subject. 

"You're changing the subject, Trevy.. But no, I would _never_ give my hard-earned money to those greasy rats who run this joint. It's disgusting down there, and food cost ten times as much as it does at the supermarket!" 

"So.. you brought this stuff from the house?" He asked, peeling the lid off the pudding cup and digging around the floral reusable bag for a spoon. He soon found one, and dug right into the deliciously smooth snack, not once stopping to breathe until he finished it and was scooping up the remnants using his fingers. The sight grossed out his father, making him smack his mouth and look away. 

"Of course I did, mijo. I'd much rather have to drive a thousand miles to get cheap food, than to come here and pay a _billion dollars_ for a single pudding cup."  
He rolled his eyes at his father's absurdity, and reached into the bag for another chocolate cup of deliciousness. 

"Mind adjusting the bed for me? It's kinda flat." His father nodded, making a grab for the little remote and adjusting the bed into a more upright position that was better suited for eating in. "Thanks." 

"So, how're Rey and Azteca doing? They looked a little shaken up when they came to visit earlier." 

"They're taking the rest of the day off. Went back to my house where they're gonna be staying for the next couple of days." 

"That's good to hear.. I suppose. Do they seem a little.. I don't know, off to you?" 

"They always seem a little off, mijo. But yeah, I guess they're just worried about you. And the devil.." he said, voice getting low and dangerous at the end. 

Trevor ignored the comment about his partner being the devil, as he polished off what must've been his fifth pudding cup. "Have you even talked to him yet, Dad? He nearly d- he got hurt real bad back there, and I strongly encourage you to at least thank him for having my back out there, while I wash all this.. pudding off my hands."  
Without waiting for a reply, he lifted up the corner of his bed sheet, carefully getting to his feet and wheeling his heart rate monitor and IV carts toward the little bathroom situated in the corner of the room. He took his sweet time in there, washing his hands twice and taking a couple of minutes to inspect his bandaged up head in the mirror. Then, once he was done looking at the mess he's become, exited the restroom only to be met with the sight of Johnny snacking on a chocolate pudding cup and licking the spoon clean, his father sitting in the chair beside his bed and saying something he couldn't quite make out. He gave it another minute before wheeling his junk back over to his own bed and letting his presence be known. 

"Hey, John, Dad. Did you two have a nice little chat while I was gone?" He smiled at the sight of his partner, and father being.. civil for once. Well, Johnny was always nice to the old man, but it was new to see his father.. not screaming at, or berating the poor guy for once. 

"Oh, I think I got my point across. Right, Mundo?" Konnan turned to face his son, wearing a smile not dissimilar to that of a shark. 

"Y-yeah. Totally. Yes, sir. Uh-huh." Johnny had the most terrified look on his face as he lay in bed eating pudding. Pudding that his father had undoubtedly given him. His partner looked as if he had just gotten the talk of his _life_.

"Dad." Trevor warned his old-man as he slipped back under the thin sheets that lay a mess atop his bed. His father reached a hand out to pat Johnny's knee, leaning in real close to say something else he couldn't make out. But judging by the horror-stricken look on the long-haired man's face after he pulled away, it must've been a threat of sorts. "John, don't listen to anything he says. Unless, of course, it's a thank you. Which I highly doubt he'd ever actually say to you. Like, _ever_."

"No- no, it's fine. _I'm_ fine. Just tired, is all. Know what? I think it's about time I went back to sleep. Night Trevor, Boss." Johnny rambled, looking like a dog with his tail between his legs after peeing all over the carpet and getting yelled at by their owner. His father must've instilled the fear of god in him. 

"Daddy, leave him alone if you're not gonna be nice. He's had a rough day."  
Konnan looked conflicted for a long while, likely contemplating scaring the crap out of his son's partner some more, or spending some time with the person he came to visit in the first place. 

"Fine. And just so you know, Trevy, I actually _did_ thank him. What do you think the pudding was for?" He said, gesturing toward the now empty cup laying beside Mundo. Now that he thought about it, his father giving someone pudding _did_ seem like a rather.. nice.. thing for him to do, if you take into account that his father didn't usually like sharing food with people he doesn't like, especially not his favorite snack item. 

__"Is that true, John? Did he thank you?"_ _

__"The pudding was tasty.. if that's what you're asking."_ _

__"That's not what I asked you, but you look really tired so I'll let it slide. I hope you have a good nights rest." He watched closely as the other man shut his tired eyes and pulled the toy he'd given him into a tight embrace, not unlike what he'd done with him earlier in the day. His father followed his gaze, only a _lot_ grossed out by the sight, though he did a good job at hiding it. And there was no vomit this time, so that seemed to be a good sign. _ _

__"Thanks, Trev. You have a.. a good night of rest too." His partner replied before his head lulled to the side and he passed out. He sure wouldn't be waking up until Trevor woke him himself to say goodbye in the morning, that's for sure._ _

__He really did hope that Johnny would heal quickly, because for some odd reason, he felt a stronger bond with him after the days harrowing events. He's always felt a bit of a pull toward the brunet, but now it felt as if that'd somehow shifted into something.. more. Something deeper. Something he's never felt before, and therefore can't for the life of himself begin to understand it. Another thing to note, was how the last couple of times they have interacted have been some of the most touchy-feely he's been with anybody in a _long_ time. Unless, of course, hook ups count. But what's really strange, is how he hasn't had intercourse with anyone in.. the last ten months or so. Just hasn't felt the emotional, or sexual pull toward anyone in quite some time. Could be that he's just been far too focused on graduating the police training academy, and therefor hasn't had much time to focus on relationships and sex. Though it does strike him as being a bit odd that he stopped checking out what's on the market around the time that he met- nope. Not the right time to be thinking about such things when his father is sitting right beside his bed, studying his facial expressions, and making a few.. faces himself. _ _

__"Baby..." his father started, sounding choked up and grossed out. "Do you.. do you l-"_ _

__"Dad." He cut him off, voice stern and final. He ignored his father's eyes that were filled with a mixture of 'I'm gonna kill someone' and 'is my baby okay?', as he lifted the thin hospital sheet up to his chin._ _

__"Alright, Trevy. But I'm only dropping it because bile just hit the back of my teeth, and I just can't take anymore of this.. _Mundo_ crap, or else I'll explode and take this building to ground with me." _ _

__They ended up talking, and eating some more food his father had brought with him for the next hour or so, his old-man choosing to ignore Mundo's existence the whole time while he himself couldn't take his eyes off of him. It was a bit strange.. and unsettling how the last couple of weeks have changed so much between the two of them, and how just _one_ incident -and a big incident at that- could bridge the gap between them and push them to become.. friends. Though Mundo's always been pushing to become.. friends, it's just that Trevor's no longer afraid to take the plunge and let it all happen the way it's meant to. _ _

__Organically._ _

__-_ _

__His father had somehow managed to get the hospital staff to let him stay in the chair beside his son's bed overnight, keeping a close watch over him, and probably also keeping a close eye on Mundo's non-existent movements throughout the night.  
Last night, his old-man had brought in his messenger bag that he'd left in his office the other day, which had a change of clothes in it as well as the little Drinking Bird trinket his partner had got for him as a Christmas present. Trevor smiled at the sight of the silly bird trinket as he stood in the bathroom, now free of all the hospital equipment stuck to, as well as in, his body. _ _

__He quickly got dressed in what he now considered to be his "civvies" and headed out of the bathroom, coming face-to-face with his father who was holding a bag with all three of the toys he'd been given by his family. He looked a little unhappy, and after looking past his old-man's shoulders, he realized why it is he looked all grumpy. Johnny was awake, and his twin brother was sitting beside his bed talking to him about something he couldn't hear from seven feet off._ _

__"Mind holding this, Dad? I kinda promised I'd say goodbye." His father only blew warm air out of his nostrils and narrowed his eyes the slightest bit in response before he was taking the bag from his son's hands and walking straight past his two officers and out into the hallway to wait for him. Boy, would he getting a earful from him the second his head was feeling better. Or at least a little less achy._ _

__He slowly approached the bed of the injured man, PJ stuttering out something along the lines of "I need to pee" and going out into the hallway where he'd likely bump into his father, but not before politely shutting the door behind himself._ _

__"Don't mind him, he's just a little.. yeah." Mumbled a tired looking Johnny. "So, you're uh, you're leaving me now, huh?"_ _

__He sat down beside him on the bed, placing his hand close enough to the others that Johnny could easily take it into his own without having to strain himself too much. But he didn't, so Trevor did. He felt the big clip on his finger and suddenly remembered where they were and what was said just moments before. "Uh.. yeah, I'm leaving now. But I will visit you tomorrow. Maybe bring something tasty."_ _

__"It's too bad the doctor said I'm not allowed to have anything other than what they feed me. And all they've been giving me is Gatorade, and ice cream. And after having nothing but cherry flavored energy drinks and popsicles non-stop for twenty-four hours, you kinda get sick of it."_ _

__He chuckled, grip tightening on the others hand for a moment to remind him that he's still here. "Don't worry, John. Doctor Wagner won't have to know a thing. And if he does find out, and he has a problem with it, then I'll just have to-"_ _

__"Arrest him?"_ _

__"I'll.. just have to sneak it in anyway.."_ _

__"Oh. Well, I guess it's good to know you're not abusing your power and arresting innocent, yet still slightly bitchy doctors." Johnny said, letting out a laugh at how ridiculous it would be for him to arrest a doctor just because he wouldn't let him give his patient some food that he's not even _allowed_ to have. He's not his dad, yeesh._ _

__"I wouldn't, but my dad might. Anyway.. I really have to get going before my old-man loses his mind at the thought of his son being alone with-"_ _

__"The devil?"_ _

__"I was gonna say his enemy, but that works too."_ _

__"So.. you're gonna leave now, right?" Johnny mumbled, his hand still being held by Trevor's. To him, it must've seemed as if his younger partner was stalling and didn't want to leave him. And that's probably because he _didn't_ want to. _ _

__"Yeah.. soon. I just wanted to- uh, yeah, sorry." He stuttered out, cheeks turning a light shade of pink. Strange this is, is that he was still holding Johnny's hand, not looking like he wanted to let go anytime soon._ _

__"No- it's- it's a alright, Trev. Just.. uh, never thought I'd see the day you'd go all soft on me, is all."_ _

__"When have I ever been hard on you?"_ _

__"Well.. I could think of a particular instance where you splashed a drink in my face. I'd call that being hard on me."_ _

__"Can we, like, please stop saying hard on? It's kinda.. yeah." Trevor mumbled, flustered as he slowly slipped his hand out of Johnny's._ _

__"Hey, you started it."_ _

__"And now I'm ending it." He slowly stood up from his chair and took a moment to steady himself before leaning down to pull his partner into a tight embrace, though still being cautious of his bruised ribs. "Feel better, John."_ _

__"Y-you too, Trev. I-I hope you, uh, feel better too. Yeah." Johnny whispered breathlessly into his ear. They stayed that way for a long time, holding each other tight with their injured heads resting beside one another's before it was time to let go and.. let Trevor go._ _

__"I really am sorry for.. for what happened back there, John. And I really do hope you heal nice and quick."_ _

__"It's fine, Trevor. I'm fine. And.. I'm also sorry for what happened. It was your first day and I should've done more to keep you a ways back from Pentagon, even if he didn't have a track record for attacking anyone."_ _

__"Know what? Let's _not_ argue over who's fault it is, and instead leave on good terms. Deal?" _ _

__"Deal."_ _

__"I'll see you tomorrow.. partner." Trevor said, getting a smile from his injured partner._ _

__"And I'll see you, partner."_ _

__It may've been a bit cheesy and lame, but they seriously did just refer to each other as "partner" before parting ways._ _

__The literal _second_ he stepped foot outside the hospital room, his father was on his feet, bombarding him with ridiculous questions he really didn't feel like answering. _ _

__"What took you so long? Did that little- that little- Did Mundo try anything? Did he try making a move on you? Maybe trick you into joining his cult?"_ _

__"Daaadd." He groaned. "He didn't do anything, so stop asking me questions. I just- I just wanna go home. Please?"_ _

__"Fine. But as soon as your head stops hurting, you're gonna give me every last detail of what's happened in the last 24 hours. I need to file the report about you two getting your as- I need to file the report about you two being assaulted by Pentagon Dark, then I need every last detail of every single interaction you've had with that _gringo_ since you two became partners. That last part obviously won't be on the report, but I still need to know for personal reasons. You know, just in case I need to open up a can of whoop-ass." _ _

__"I can't hear you, cause I'm walking away, Dad." He called as he marched down the hallway._ _

__"Other way, mijo." Konnan replied, getting his son to turn on his heels and walk straight past him toward the elevators. Or death-boxes, as his father liked to call them._ _

__And as Trevor made his way to the elevator, making sure to push every button in the small space just to annoy his father, a thought suddenly came to him:_ _

__What would his father think if he knew all about what'd gone down between Mundo and himself in that very hospital room in the last 24 hours?_ _


	6. A Tasty Treat And A Threat To Johnny's Life

Hissing in pain, Trevor removed the completely thawed out ice pack that'd been pressed against his injured cranium for the last hour or so, and tossed it on top of the coffee table that lay beside him.  
Doctor Wagner had instructed him to press the freezing cold bag of ice wrapped in a towel against his cranium for ten minute intervals, but to skip the whole having to do math thing, he ignored the good doctor's orders and left it there for an entire hour while laying back on his father's plush leather couch and watching some random Novela on the television. 

He knew Spanish fairly well, having grown up in a house with his father and all, so he understood most of what the characters were saying. And what was currently unfolding before his tired eyes was a young Hispanic woman yelling all the swear words in the book at her soon-to-be ex-husband, who was a drug dealer and bookie. It was very entertaining. If you were concussed and healing, that is. 

He grabbed the remote off the coffee table, switching off the television and tossing the remote into the mountain of blankets that lay atop his limp body, likely burying it for good.  
He knew that he should _really_ be getting some rest after getting released from the hospital the previous day, but he was even _more_ desperate to visit his partner than he was for some decent shut-eye. 

With a slight grunt of pain, he swung his legs over the side of the couch and sat with his head hanging between his legs for a minute to try and calm the nausea swimming in the pit of his empty stomach. After he felt secure in the knowledge that he wouldn't be throwing up if he dared move a muscle, he stood up and had to take another minute to squeeze his eyes shut to try and alleviate the vertigo caused from standing up far too quickly.  
Once his eyes were open and he felt that the room had stopped spinning, he headed towards the kitchen and began rummaging through the many wooden cabinets. Searching for something edible to make for Johnny. After a very thorough ten minute search of every inch of the old, beat-up kitchen that likely hadn't been cleaned since the late 2000's, he'd ended up with twelve inedible baking mixes, and five ones that expire within the next two months. 

He narrowed down his options until only two stood before him atop the marble kitchen counter. A Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix that usually ended up tasting like the rear end of a pig, or a brownie mix from the same company that tasted like heaven. The correct choice was pretty damn obvious, so he chucked the cake mix in what he hoped would be the trash, but what ended up being the recycling bin. Great, it looks like his dad _recycles_ now. If only he cared about the environment back in High School when he needed information on it for a lame project they ended up pairing him up with the laziest kid in school for, who made _him_ do all the work while he sat back and scarfed down a family-sized bag of Doritos.

Trevor decided to ignore the misplaced box of cake mix and instead focus on finding the supplies needed for making the delicious fudge brownie he'd be presenting his injured partner with. The same partner he'd been getting really up close and personal with. Maybe it was all of the strong emotions he was feeling after their.. little run-in with the masked maniac they call Pentagon Dark, or possibly the drugs he was hopped up on, but he'd up and confessed his strong want and need to be the older cops friend. Well, that and a few other things he most definitely didn't regret. Things such as planting a big ol' kiss upon his cheek when he was sleeping, and receiving a small smile in response from him. At the time, he was completely certain that Mundo was asleep when he did it, that it's possible his body may've reacted naturally to the.. intimate gesture if he really was asleep. But now he's kinda starting to second guess things. 

With a soft sigh and an inexplicable warm feeling in his chest and stomach, he pushed aside all thoughts and feelings about his injured partner so that he could focus on the task at hand. After gathering up the ingredients necessary for making the brownie, he came to the sudden realization that he'd be needing an apron to protect his yellow hoodie. Or maybe even just take the damn thing off and wear the apron anyway.. Didn't sound like too bad of a plan if you asked Trevor.  
So he unzipped his favorite hoodie and tossed it onto the counter top furthest from the one he was using, then grabbed the single apron his father owned from inside one of the particularly.. cob-webby cabinets. It just so happened to be an apron that was in the style of a.. sexy maid. It was in the shape of a black dress with white frills and all. He didn't have to think too hard to come up with an answer as to _who_ gifted it to his father, as the faint memory of his uncle Rey giving it to his old-man for his birthday at _least_ eight years ago came to mind. It still had the tag attached to it, meaning that his father had more than likely stuffed it in the cabinet and hasn't touched it since. Which isn't surprising at all, seeing as the guy had a steady diet of beans and rice he's been following since.. well, forever. 

He shrugged a shoulder dismissively and went on to tie the apron around his naked torso, the slightly rough texture only bothering his sensitive nipples a little bit. It wasn't what he'd been expecting, but it'd have to do as he produced a rather large mixing bowl from a cupboard that seemed to be eight feet off the ground, but was likely only six at the most. Still, it was bothersome to be climbing on top of countertops when you were still technically not supposed to be moving around much. Or at all, in Trevor's case. Now with everything laid out atop the counter, he could get started on tearing open the bag of brownie mix with his teeth. Which may or may not have ended in some minor spillage on his part. But he fixed that by just scraping the loose powder off the counter and into the large bowl. 

Suddenly remembering that you're supposed to preheat the oven, he ran over to the appliance and set it to 350, then slowly walked back over to the counter. He then cracked the three eggs, ready to pour in the oil, when he suddenly realized that he didn't have any measuring cups. He haphazardly ransacked the utensil drawer, tossing things to the side as he searched for a single measuring cup. Just _one_ would've been nice, but he ended up having no such luck and had to look in the cabinets for one.  
There ended up being a measuring cup in the giant cabinet filled with spiders and old paper plates. And after a long minute spent contemplating using the inadequately sized cup filled with bugs, he decided to forgo the damn thing all together and just pour in the oil without it, relying solely on his totally amazing guesswork skills. He must've used at _least_ a quarter cup more than the recipe called for, but he let it slide do to the gnarly headache he felt coming on. After taking a short break from cooking to throw back the suggested two Tylenol-four's, he was ready to continue making his disaster- _master piece_ of a brownie. 

After everything was mixed together and ready to be poured into the baking pan, he realized that he hadn't thought that far ahead. Where did his father keep the pots and pans? He did a quick search of the kitchen only to come up with no clue as to where on earth his old-man could've _possibly_ hid the damn things. So he ended up having to walk halfway up the staircase and shout questions at the man whose house he's staying in while he's healing from his injury. 

"Hey, Dad! Where do you keep the baking pans.. and, uh, pots and pans?.." he asked, trying his best to not sound too suspicious. 

"They're in the oven! Wait- why aren't you sleeping?! Doctor Wagner said you need at least a hundred hours of rest before you're even _allowed_ to get off the couch." His father shouted back, thundering footsteps coming closer and closer with every word he spoke. 

"Uh- I uh.. I'm just really hungry.. and I kinda wanted to make some food. Because I'm.. hungry."  
His father appeared at the top of the stairs, taking one look at what his son was wearing before he was staring at him all wide-eyed, taking small steps backwards in retreat. 

"I don't know why you're wearing that, or where on god's green earth you found it... but I know one thing's for sure: I never want to see that again as long as I live, mijo. So I'm gonna go to work, and your lazy uncle Rey-Rey is gonna make you a tasty meal. Alright?" 

It seemed as though seeing his son wearing such a... revealing and suggestive apron made him very uncomfortable, as it should any normal parent. It also ended up making his father disappear to quickly grab his stuff from his bedroom and run right down the stairs and past him, only to come back about three seconds later to give him a kiss on his head, telling him to go the hell back to sleep and allow his lazy uncles to take care of him. His uncles which were currently nowhere to be seen.. 

-

Upstairs, Rey and his partner Azteca were both bundled up in warm sweatpants and shirts that could easily pass as clothing you could wear outside the house, if not for the conspicuous mustard stains decorating the hem of the older man's shirt. 

They'd been awake and lazing about for the last couple of hours in the guest bedroom they're sharing, not quite feeling tired enough to sleep, but also not wanting to exert themselves with any sort of physical activity. It'd been almost an entire day since they visited their nephew at the hospital, and nearly a day since they went back to the precinct to interrogate Pentagon Dark under the guise of going back to Konnan's to rest up. Well, that's what they had the old man tell his son, anyway. 

"You got any ace's?" Azteca asked his partner for what must've been the tenth time in their hour-long game of go fish the elder had accused him of cheating at not fifteen minutes ago.  
Rey shook his head, groaning loudly as he laid back on their shared bed. 

"For the tenth time, Az! No, I do _not_ have any fucking ace's, so please stop asking!"  
On the average, Rey was a fairly level-headed guy, so when he loses control of his temper around his partner.. well, Azteca just knew something was bothering him. Probably bottled up for a lot longer than what was healthy. And it was especially bad because the older man always prided himself on knowing when to let out your feelings and share your problems with a close and trusted friend. 

He set his cards face down and crawled further up the bed to lie on his front, elbows propped up with his hands supporting his head as he closely studied his dear friend and partner. "Is there something you'd like to tell me, Rey?" 

The man in question sighed heavily, releasing all the built up tension in his worn out body. He turned to face Azteca, a sad expression coming across his aged features. "I- We interrogated that- that _maniac_ for over three hours, Az! And we got nothing!" 

Azteca tried not to let his partner's loud shout of anger bother him as he reached out to grasp onto his hand. "Rey, he told us he has a maestro. Doesn't that at least count for something?"  
His partner's eyes darkened to the point of appearing menacing for a moment, effectively making him even more worried about him and how guilt-ridden he must be feeling. 

"My- _our_ nephew was hospitalized because of my recklessness. Pentagon telling us he has a master means nothing to me, and it gives us nothing to lock him away with. We're gonna need to get a statement from Trevor and Mundo before we even try pressing charges." 

Azteca listened carefully to what Rey had to say before sitting up in bed beside him, giving his hand a soft squeeze. "I know, Rey. And I get that you're frustrated, angry, and all around just feeling really guilty feeling about the whole thing. I am too. But you have to remember that there's a solution to every problem, whether it be big or small."  
At hearing his partner's emotional speech, Rey's eyes seemed to lose their steely edge and soften around the edges. 

"I just think that if I hadn't agreed to tail Trevor and Johnny that this wouldn't have happened and nobody would've gotten hurt. That- that emo clown looked me right in the eyes before he did what he did! How could I possibly have _not_ been the cause of his outburst? I- I.. put my nephew and his partner in danger.. and I blame myself fully for what happened to them, Az. I blame myself and it's eating away at me."  
Towards the end of his long rant, Rey seemed to slowly be crumbling to pieces. The sight was hard to watch for Azteca, who felt just as guilty as his partner did. Trevor is basically his nephew too, meaning that he's family. And he let family get hurt while he stood by and watched. 

"Don't do this to yourself again, Rey. I was the one who agreed to tag along. And maybe if I hadn't of said yes.. maybe they'd be alright."

"Why? Cause I wouldn't have gone without you?" 

"Course you wouldn't have. We're partners, and partners stick together. Especially when one of them is hurting.. we stick together, Rey. It's you and me till the end of the line, understand?" 

Rey broke out into a sad smile, leaning further into his partner's space to give him a bit of a half-hug. "Yeah, I get you. But I still don't want you going around blaming yourself for the incident."

"Okay, how about we split the blame 50/50 like I said back at the precinct the other day?" Azteca whispered into Rey's ear as the older man's head rested against his shoulder. 

"Hmm.. 60/40 sounds better.. but I guess it'll have to-" Rey was cut off by the sound of something falling to the ground, a loud "fuck," following the action. He tightened his hold on his partner's hand and quickly opened their bedroom door, their hurried footsteps thundering down the staircase that seemed to be a lot longer than it usually was.  
They went straight to the kitchen only to find their nephew standing in front of the oven that was full of pots and pans, one of them lying on the floor in front of him. 

-

"You all right, Trev? That was- that was quite the crash we heard from upstairs." Asked his uncle Rey. 

After his father had left the house for work, he went to check the oven for the baking pans he said were kept in there. And since his brain was still a little foggy from his cranial injury, and also because he was just plain forgetful sometimes, he'd opened the oven and pulled out the first pan he saw and ended up burning his hands from how hot the metal was. How could he have forgotten that he'd preheated the oven? 

"I.." he mumbled, walking towards he sink to rinse his hands in cold water while both of his uncles stared at his naked backside, probably wondering why on _earth_ he wasn't wearing a shirt. "I opened the oven to grab a baking pan, 'cause my dad is crazy and keeps them in there for some reason! And I somehow forgot that I'd preheated the oven.. and, uh, yeah.. I kinda burned myself." 

After a long silence on his uncles' part, Azteca spoke up. "Okay.. I have another question for you, Trev. Like, I don't know.. maybe why you're out of bed and _baking a cake_?" 

"For your information, it's actually a brownie." Trevor replied, not at all bothering to acknowledge the mention of him not being in bed while recovering from his injury. 

"Trevor.. why are you making a brownie?" Asked Rey, who stood with a hand on his hip right beside the conspicuous mustard stains that litter the hem of his shirt while his partner stood beside him, nodding along to what he said. 

"I wanted to make something tasty for John since all he's had to eat in the last 24 hours have been Gatorade and popsicles." Trevor replied as he grabbed two mismatched oven mitts off the side of the fridge where they were hung up. He then carefully picked the baking pan off the floor before getting started on pulling all of the rest of the hot pots and pans out of the oven.

"And how exactly do you plan on getting to the hospital to.. visit your partner when you're supposed to be resting at home?" Asked his older uncle. 

He began pouring the brownie mixture into the baking pan, the distraction turning out to be the perfect opportunity to carefully word his answer. It'd have to be very straightforward, and he'd probably also need to prepare a good bribe just in case. And he'd need to get him to agree not to tell his uptight and overprotective father. 

"I was hoping that you could maybe drive me, uncle Rey-Rey. Maybe wait around in the hallway for a few minutes while I check in to, uh.. see if John's all right. Maybe talk for a bit." 

Rey stood there staring at his nephew for an uncomfortable amount of time before glancing his partner's way and having a silent conversation with him made up of mostly eyebrow raises and tilts of the head. The silent conversation was finished before Trevor even knew it, his uncle Rey nodding once. "Sure, Trevor. I'll take you, and your other uncle will tag along as well." 

Before he could begin celebrating his all too easy win, Rey interrupted him with a loud 'but'. 

"We can only stay out for an hour tops or else we'll have hell to pay. You know how your dad gets.. Specially when it's about you and that Mundo guy. Y'know, I honestly don't get why he gets so bent outta shape at the mention of his name. It's like one minute we're talking about.. I don't know, donuts? And the next he's shouting about how the devil they call Johnny Mundo wants to steal his son's precious fl- Uh, never mind. Just- call me down when you're ready to leave, kiddo." Rey turned on his heels and quickly ran back upstairs, likely blushing a bright shade of red the whole flight up. 

Azteca had stayed behind, giving his nephew a strange look. "What's up with the, uh.." he mumbled, gesturing toward his 'sexy maid' apron he'd found in a filthy cabinet filled with a ton of junk his father's never even touched. 

"Oh, this?" Trevor glanced down at the apron on his chiseled body, fingers lightly pinching at the fabric. "Found it all crumpled up inside a cabinet. And I'm also pretty damn sure that my dad hasn't touched it once since Rey gifted it to him for his birthday, like, eight years ago or something. I don't.. uh, normally wear aprons such as this one around the house. Specially not my dad's." 

"That's- that's, uh.. good to hear. Yeah, uh, I'm just gonna.. go back upstairs and get dressed, get ready to tag along on your little visit with Johnny." His uncle began slowly backing toward the stairs while trying his hardest not to look at his suggestive apron too much. It was a.. bold outfit choice that was bound to make anyone -especially a member of someone's family- feel kinda awkward. Even more so if you weren't wearing a shirt with it. "But, uh.. you wear it well, Trev. Just maybe with a shirt next time would be nice." 

"Yeah, you go do that, Azteca. And thanks.. I think." 

Once his uncle was out of sight and the slightly -very- awkward tension had cleared from the room along with him, he finished pouring the rest of the wet brownie mixture into the baking pan, only managing to spill a tiny bit on the edge of the pan and the counter. When he went to put the pan in the oven, he'd by miracle remembered to put the twenty-something-year-old mismatched oven mitts on his poor burnt hands just in case another accident were to occur. 

Thirty-five minutes later he'd be seen taking the cooked brownie out of the oven and setting it atop the stove before slowly walking towards the stairs where he'd then shout up them for his 'lazy' uncles to hurry up. They soon came rushing down the stairs wearing their civvies that, luckily, didn't have any conspicuous stains on them. Azteca was wearing his 'dragon' hoodie that looked a hell of a lot like a watermelon and made Trevor giggle into a his hand. 

"What? Is it the shoes? Are the boots too casual for a hospital visit?" Azteca said, seemingly a little self-conscious. 

"No, no. They're fine. I just.." he trailed off, letting out a soft chuckle. "You're wearing a watermelon hoodie." 

"You got a problem with that?" Said Rey. 

"Yeah, what's wrong with my awesome _dragon_ hoodie?"

Trevor shook his head, trying his best not to start laughing again. "I didn't say that there was anything wrong with it.. just that it kinda looks like a watermelon." 

"Well I think that it was really expensive, and that its _totally_ a dragon! So you can keep your rude comments to yourself, Trev." 

"Azteca, I just- you got scammed out of your money on that one. Like, I'm sorry, but it's a watermelon." 

"Let's argue about this in the car, alright?" Rey said before he began pushing his partner and nephew towards the front door. 

"Well, it's obviously a dragon, so I don't really see what we have to argue about." 

"Wait- I haven't even taken the brownie out of the pan yet." Trevor stepped away from the hands that were lightly pushing him toward the front door to walk over to the brownie and lay it upside down on a plate and whack the backside of it with a spatula until the delicious looking dessert came out semi-neatly. It was only crumbling on the sides, so that was fine. It's not like Johnny would notice or even care while in his condition. Then he sliced it into small squares and packed it all up in one of his dad's many unused Tupperware containers he was scammed into buying off of some infomercial many, many years ago. And placed it inside one of the floral reusable bags hung on a hook by the front door. 

-

The drive over didn't take too long due to it being fairly early in the morning, and everybody having gone off the work already. But it sure _felt_ long, what with Azteca's incessant blabbering in his ear about how he didn't spend eighty-five bucks of his hard-earned cash on a freaking watermelon hoodie. And Trevor eventually got sick of it, giving up the argument altogether and agreeing that it's totally a dragon and not a fucking watermelon. Though he used a lot more swearing. Used some words that made Rey threaten to turn the car around while driving fast lane and go home where he'd then tell Konnan his son tried to sneak out of the house to visit his partner in the hospital. That made Trevor shut his trap almost as quickly as it opened, and he stayed silent the for the remainder of the fairly short drive to the hospital. 

And now the three of them were at the circulation desk getting Trevor's visitors pass situation handled. It seemed as though Johnny had updated his information in the last 24 hours, making it possible for Trevor to visit without a problem. It made him curious as to what his partner had him listed as in the hospital's database. Knowing him, it was most likely something along the vague, yet accurate, lines of 'partner'. After staring off into space for a long while, thinking of how ambiguous a word 'partner' is, he was handed a big blue sticker that had the words 'visitor' as well as the date, time, and Johnny's room number scrawled on it in black magic marker.  
He thanked the receptionist before walking off toward the elevator with both of his uncles by his side. They'd both just sit in a waiting room or the hallway while he paid his friend and partner a little visit. 

As the metal death-box brought him closer and closer to the floor his partner was on, he contemplated pressing every button in the small space to delay having to face the injured man. It's not that he suddenly didn't want to see him, but more that he doesn't know what to say once he gets there that's bothering him. What if it's all just awkward small talk and chewing sounds? 

"Hey, you alright, kiddo?" Rey said, a hand resting atop his suddenly tense shoulders. 

"I'm fine, Rey. Just don't know what to say to him, is all." 

"Don't worry about it too much, Trev. When you really click with someone and you're alone with them.. the words will just come to you."  
He didn't know how to react to his uncle's wise words, so he didn't. Just stayed silent and continued breathing heavily as the elevator took 'em higher and higher. 

"He's right, Trevor. It comes naturally when you're with that special someone who just.. gets you." Azteca said, causing him to look up just in time to see him make eye contact with his other uncle. It was fleeting, but he thought he'd caught a glimpse of one-sided conversation. Almost like Azteca was trying to convey something to his partner via his piercing gaze. 

The loud ding that sounded, followed by the elevator lurching to a stop, brought him back into present time. They'd reached the floor of Johnny's room and Trevor wasn't at all ready to step foot outside the metal death-box. He stood stock-still for a moment, barley breathing at all as the metal doors slid open and Azteca stepped outside the small space. 

"Trevor? Are you alright, kid?" Rey asked, a gentle hand resting atop his shoulder. He slowly began to breathe steadily with the help of his uncle's familiar and comforting voice. And once he felt more stable, he willed his feet to carry him out of the elevator.  
He'd finally made it out of the compact space, letting out a ragged breath of air he'd been keeping trapped inside for most of the ride up. "Do you still feel like seeing him? Cause if not, we could always just-" 

"No. I'm- I'm alright now, Rey. I just needed a moment, but I'm alright now. I think." He rushed to get out of his system. 

His uncle eyed him for a moment, studying his expression as if he were trying to read his jumbled up thoughts. After a long moment spent watching him, Rey sighed and placed a hand on his bicep, lightly squeezing it and offering up a sad smile. "If you need anything.. or you feel uncomfortable, Azteca and I will be sitting right outside in these here chairs."

Trevor nodded, glancing at the door to the room Johnny had been transferred to, then at the chairs stationed not ten feet from the door. "Thanks, Rey. But, uh.. I think I was just feeling a bit nervous back there. I'll be fine. After all, it's just John." 

Saying that felt like a bit of a.. not a flat out lie, but more of a fib. There wasn't such thing as his partner being 'just John'. He was way past being anything 'just' to him. And on a different note, it's not like he didn't have reason to be nervous about seeing the guy. Especially after all that'd gone down between them the previous day. The kisses to the hand, their declaration of friendship.. Everything was still so fresh in his foggy mind. 

"Take your time in there, Trev. We'll wait up for you." 

He mumbled a quiet 'thanks', in response before heading towards the closed hospital room door. Just three or so inches of wood separated him from his partner, whom he hadn't seen since the previous day. He was nervous, but, luckily, a whole lot less so than he was minutes ago. He took a deep breath before pushing the door open, eyes instantly locking with Johnny's. The dark brown irises drew him in closer, making him forget about all of that not knowing what to say crap. He stopped at his partner's bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress and carefully wrapping his arms around his overly warm body. 

"H-how are you doing, John?" He whispered, still holding on tight to his injured friend and partner who was gripping onto him just as tightly, if not more. 

"Heh, just about the same as yesterday. But at least my head aches a lot less than it did before. What about you, Trev? Is your head healing alright? God, I _really_ hope you didn't drive yourself here." 

At the sound of his partner's concerned voice, he pulled out of his warm embrace to let out a soft chuckle. "I'm fine, my head just barley aches every time I look directly into light. And when I walk too much.. but that doesn't really matter all that much. And to answer your other question; I had Rey drive me. He was surprisingly easygoing about the whole me wanting to sneak outta the house thing." 

"Well your health matters to me, Mann. I don't want you coming here and.. and putting yourself at risk of- I don't know? Falling down or fainting just because you wanted to visit me. I would feel so guilty if you got.. if you got hurt because of me. And it's good to know you didn't drive yourself here or call an Über."  
Mundo's eyes were on him, staring right through the windows to his soul and catching a glimpse of his bright light. He had to look anywhere but those captivating pools of brown. Choosing to look down at the stark white hospital sheets. Which also happened to be where the other's hand was resting beside his own. If he moved it just a couple of inches to the- 

"You alright?" Johnny's head was cocked to the side in confusion and what also looked to be concern. He shook his head to forget about the sensations the other man's touch had sent throughout his body the previous day. He ignored the hand that was resting not six inches away from his own, instead choosing to focus on the words coming out of his injured partner's mouth. 

"Yeah- yeah, John. I'm good. Just a little distracted, is all." To help himself focus on conversation rather than physical sensations, he got up from the bed to instead sit beside him in the uncomfortable looking chair meant for visitors to occupy. He secretly grinned to himself at the sight of the large kitten toy he'd gotten for him resting beside him in bed beneath the thin sheets. "How're uh- how're your ribs doing?" 

Johnny smiled a little himself, already reaching behind his back to untie the strings keeping his hospital gown closed. He then pulled down his blanket a bit before further adjusting the blue fabric of his gown to reveal badly bruised ribs to him. His hand automatically reached out to touch them, and he luckily caught himself just in time to not poke the injured man in the black, blue and red ribs. 

"You can touch, I don't mind." Johnny smirked tiredly, grabbing his hand in his and guiding it toward his colorfully decorated skin. Trevor ignored the slight innuendo and allowed himself to feel Mundo's burning hot skin beneath the delicate touch of his fingertips. He didn't look to be feeling any sort of pain or discomfort, so he continued applying light pressure to the injured area. After a while of just looking at the array of colorful bruises that decorated the tan and toned skin of his parter he decided that he'd had enough for the day and retracted his hand, replacing the fabric of Johnny's hospital gown over the injury and recovering his body with his white blanket. He looked tired, and his eye was still all bruised up, looking black, purple and red. He also couldn't help but notice how cuddly he looked beside the toy he'd given him. Made him wonder whether or not he'd named it yet. 

Johnny must've noticed Trevor staring at him and the cute kitten, since then next words out of his mouth sounded a lot like he'd up and read the younger man's mind. "I named him KoKo, after Konnan." 

He laughed so hard he thought he'd get a hernia from just thinking about how silly a nickname "KoKo" was for his grouchy father, who'd probably blow a gasket if he were to catch wind of it. "Heh, it's cute. First he's 'The Barbarian', then he's KoKo. What's next?" 

"Well, I'd sure as hell call him The Undertaker after our conversation last night. He was.. really scary. But at least the pudding was tasty, so that's a plus." 

"The _Undertaker?_ John- what did he.. what on earth did he say to you? Did he threaten to kill you if you-" he cut himself off, no longer wishing to continue his ramble. 

"If I what?" Johnny urged him on, tone gentle as always. 

"If you.. I don't know? Continue to.. pur- If you continue being my friend.. or maybe even 'allow' me to get another injury from some psychopath no one can control?" 

"Well, you're not completely off the mark there. It was something.. along the lines of 'make a move on my little Trevy and you die'."

His eyes fell shut and he groaned to himself. "That's it? Did he mention the.. accident at all?" 

"Oh yeah. He mentioned it. Put the fear of god in me too." Johnny wasn't making eye contact with him like he usually did. He looked tired, sad, and seemed to be remembering something unpleasant. Likely enough his interaction with Konnan. 

"Are you.. okay? I-I don't want him going around threatening people. Especially not my partner, who I will hopefully be with for a long time." Johnny laid there, eyes latched onto the low thread count sheets provided by the hospital, seeming to not to be listening. 

His father, who he loved dearly, had last night threatened his partner who'd recently been in a terrible accident wherein he sustained extensive and potentially life-threatening injuries. His old man, who'd said that he would put down the weapons and be civil with Mundo for once in his life, had no doubt blamed the beaten and battered man for allowing his son to get hurt on the job. As well as telling him not to make a move on him, which shouldn't be a problem since Trevor is twenty-seven, single, and can make his own god damn decisions in life. If he wanted to kiss his partner, or even hold his hand.. or do more than just show mild affection for him, he'd be allowed to. Because he's an adult who can't be controlled by his father. He loves his old-man to bits and pieces, but he can't tell him what to do anymore. And he'd declared that the previous day. 

"I'm fine, just a little shaken up. Konnan can just.. he can really be a barbarian sometimes." 

He looked into Johnny's eyes, searching for the lie that was nowhere to be found. It seemed as though he was telling the truth. That, or he was a really good actor. And from what little Trevor knows about him, he knows Johnny can't tell a lie to save his life. 

"Okay, but I'm still gonna talk to him about it. I'm old enough to take care of, as well as take responsibility myself. And if he can't see that.. well, he's gonna be hearing some complaints from me." 

"I may not know you all that well, but I do know you're smart enough to know when it's best to take someone's advice, or even let them guide you through whatever it is that's troubling you. You know when enough is enough, and you've realized that your dad's crossed a line. That's a pretty difficult thing to.. to admit to yourself about someone you're so close with. And I'd say that's a pretty great quality to have, Trev." 

He sat in the chair beside the bed, smiling down at his lap and trying to hide it from his partner. It's not that he didn't want to share his grin with the other man, but more that he was too flustered from the compliment to be able to look him in the eye. "Thanks, John.." he trailed off, trying to think of a way to change the subject. "Uh, I brought you something tasty just like I promised the other day." He lifted the floral bag onto the bed, waiting for Johnny to open it up and unveil the (hopefully) delicious brownie he'd made for him. 

"Before I look inside and risk getting a stern talking-to from Dr. Wagner, I wanna tell you something real quick. Stop hiding your smile from me, it's adorable and I want to see it." That drew another grin out of Trevor. One that made his partner laugh, the melodic sound traveling straight to his ears and causing him to laugh along with him. 

"I wouldn't be afraid of him if I were you. He's off.. doing things for other injured patients and I highly doubt he'd even notice if you ate an entire brownie." 

"So it's a brownie, huh?" Mundo smirked, reaching inside the reusable bag to lift the Tupperware container out and pop the lid open to release the delicious smell of the dessert into the air. "God, it smells so good.. I haven't had any real food in what feels like forever. Mainly because Dr. W is an asshole. Uh, don't tell him I said that.. please." 

"Don't worry, John. I won't tell him. Cause not only would that get you in big trouble, but I'd probably get yelled at too. Maybe even banned from visiting you."

"Yeah, let's definitely keep that information away from him.." Johnny said before reaching into the decade old container his father had been tricked into buying off some infomercial. 

"Why? Would you miss me too much?" He smirked, trying his hand at teasing his long haired partner. 

"Yeah, especially after yesterday's events.. I'd kinda like to keep you close." He looked a little sad for a moment before pulling himself together and working up a sad smile. 

"I.. didn't mean it like that, John.. I'd miss you too if I weren't allowed to visit." Trevor said sincerely. He hasn't yet gotten to know Johnny, and that's one of the big things he's been wanting to do for quite some time. Even months ago when his father wanted to keep him away from the handsome man at all costs. "And I think we should use this time to get to know one another. You're gonna- you _are_ my partner, and I'd really like to know more about you. Or anything at all, for that matter." 

"You go first," Johnny said, smiling. "Tell me about yourself." 

"Alright.. uh, the other day when you told me you did Grecko in High School and in College, I wanted to tell you that I did too. So, uh.. yeah. We seem to have a lot more in common then I thought." 

"Really? Wow, that's a bit of a shocker for me. Not that you don't look like the wrestling type! It's just.. yeah. I don't know many other guys at the station who used to wrestle too. Maybe we should.. hang out sometime and try out a couple of moves on each other?" Johnny said before grabbing a big chunk of the fudge brownie, slowly lifting it to his parted lips that awaited the hopefully tasty treat. 

Trevor held his breath for a moment, exhaling all the air in his lungs when the taboo food made its way into his partner's mouth and a loud sigh that was a borderline _moan_ escaped his full mouth. It seemed as though he enjoyed his cooking. Thank you, Betty Crocker. He began to feel slightly uncomfortable as the other continued to moan as he chewed the food. 

"Yeah- yeah.. We should totally spar sometime." 

"This is- Jesus, Trevor.. This has got to be the most delicious brownie I've ever eaten in my entire life. You sure there's no weed in it?" He laughed, grabbing another chunk of brownie. 

"I'm a cop now, John. I'm supposed to be busting people who do stuff like that, not sneaking batches of it into hospitals." 

"You didn't deny putting weed in it." 

Even though Trevor knew for certain he didn't put any.. illegal substances in the brownie, he decided to break off a chunk and see for himself whether or not it tasted as delicious as his partner said it did. He chewed it for a long moment, deciding to play a little joke on the other and pretend to be thinking over the possibility of there being marijuana in it. It was totally worth it to see Johnny's shocked face and hesitance in chewing the bite in his mouth any longer. 

"I'm just messing with you, John! There's nothing bad in it!" He laughed, leaning forward to place a hand on his relieved partner's knee and give it a light squeeze. 

"I gotta admit, you had me there for a second, Mann. But in all seriousness, this is really good. Like, I wouldn't mind marrying this brownie and having six kids with it." 

"That's you being serious, huh?" 

"What? C'mon Trev, don't tell me you wouldn't marry this brownie on the spot if it proposed to you." 

"I mean.. I don't really go for inanimate objects that are meant to be eaten, but if that's what you're into, then I'll gladly be your best man at the wedding." That one pulled a laugh out of Johnny, causing him to place a hand over his bruised ribs and pull KoKo closer to his side. The display was rather endearing, Trevor'd have to admit. 

"You really need to stop making me laugh or else I might end up ripping some stitches."

"Unless you got a new injury in the last 24 hours that required stitches that I don't know about, I doubt that will happen, John." 

"I meant it figuratively, but take it as you like." Johnny said, shifting around the pillows supporting his head to try and get more comfortable. "Also, I believe we're supposed to ask each other more cheesy questions about our lives." 

"It's your turn, since I went last." 

"Okay.. uh, my favorite color is red. You?" 

"Mines yellow. Also, I think we should try and make this a little more interesting. Like, make it a bit of a game." 

"Sounds good to me. Ooh, I have a good one. When I was in the police training academy with my brother PJ, we switched places for a day and our instructor never even noticed until I told him about it on graduation day. It's even more funny since we aren't even identical." 

"Can't say I ever did anything quite like that, seeing as I don't have a twin brother, but that's really funny." 

"Now tell me something interesting that you've done in your life, Trevor." Johnny's lips -that were not at all distracting-, curled into a slight smirk that soon stretched into a full-on smile that revealed his pearly whites. 

"Well, there was this one time in College when my roommate, his friends and I snuck out past curfew and pushed an old fridge no one was using anymore down a flight of stairs." 

"You have got to be kidding me!" Johnny exclaimed, squeezing KoKo tightly in his arms. "I did the _same_ thing in my freshman year!" 

"For real? Did you end up getting caught?" 

"No. Did you?" 

"Nope, I got off scot-free since I was a freshman and nobody would've suspected me to do something so crazy." 

Just like what his uncle's had told him, when you're with that special someone that you just seem to click with, conversation comes naturally. So they ended up talking about their lives over the course of the next hour or so, and finding out that they have even more in common then they'd originally thought.  
They'd also managed to eat the entirety of the brownie Trevor had brought along, even sharing the last piece since Johnny refused to be stingy. 

After conversation had died down, the food had been eaten, and Johnny was expecting his brother to visit sometime soon, it looked to be time for Trevor to make his leave. Even if he really wanted to stay all day and entertain his injured friend. Maybe even accidentally bruise his ribs further from making him laugh so hard, though that wouldn't at be intentional.

With a hand resting atop his partner's knee, he got to his feet and sat beside him on the bed. "As much as I enjoyed hearing about you getting your wisdom teeth removed, I think it's time for me to go. Your brother will be here soon, and I don't wanna intrude or anything." 

"Oh, c'mon, Trevor! PJ loves you! You could maybe stay for a little longer.." 

"He does?" 

"Well, maybe he doesn't _love_ , love you, but he does "love" you. Do you get what I'm trying to say or am I being really confusing again?" 

He chuckled, finally understanding Johnny's words. "I get what you're saying, John. And I think PJ's pretty great too."

"Ugh, try living with him your entire life. It's not always rainbows and butterflies." 

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on it. Uh, I really have to go now. My uncles are kinda waiting for me down the hall, and if my dad finds out that I snuck out of the house.. well, I'm gonna die. Actually, no, you and my uncles would die. I'd be alive and locked away in a padded room for the rest of my life." 

"And as much as I'd love for you to stay another hour, I get it. Konnan will _actually_ kill me if he finds out, so.. yeah. Guess I'll see ya 'round, partner." 

"I might drop by again tomorrow if I can convince Rey to drive me." 

"Only if you feel stable enough to leave the house, alright?"  
The look of concern on Johnny's face coupled with the way he was looking at him had the younger feeling overly warm. He couldn't look the brunet in the eyes, those eyes that were tired and- well, he couldn't tell what the other look in them was. All he knew was he couldn't handle the piercing gaze Mundo had directed at him. So to answer him he nodded, eyes downcast until he felt a hand gently lifting his chin till he had no choice but to look into his dark brown orbs and get lost in them. His partner didn't say anything, just looked him in the eyes for moment that seemed to last forever. 

The moment that seemed to be passing by in slow motion ended when they both heard a couple of knocks on the open door to Johnny's hospital room. "Knock, knock-" he turned to see PJ standing in the doorway, a surprised look on his face. His expression soon turned to a happy one and he broke into a little giggling fit that had him covering his mouth and accidentally dropping a small bag on the floor that he quickly scrambled to pick up. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything.. boys." 

Too confused and embarrassed to come up with a coherent response himself, he stayed silent while Johnny answered his brother for him. "Not at all, brother. Trevor here was actually just leaving." 

"No fair! I never get to see the guy you're literally _always_ going on about." Whined a pouty PJ. 

"Shut up-" Johnny started only to get rudely cut off by his counterpart. 

"And trust me, Trev, he's _always_ going on and **on** about you at home. Sucks that I never actually get to talk to you, 'cause based on everything he's said about you, you sound like a pretty great guy."

Ignoring the thoughts and questions he had about what his partner says about him to his brother behind closed doors, Trevor sat still and nodded slowly at PJ. "Uh, yeah.. I really do have to go now. But, uh, hopefully we'll be seeing each other more often down at the station, PJ." 

"Please ignore everything he just said, Trevor. He likes to over exaggerate things a lot of the time. Especially when he wants to _embarrass_ me!" His partner said, raising his voice at the end to alert his brother of his annoyance with him. 

"Will do, John." He leaned down to bring his injured friend and partner into a lingering hug. One in which he thinks the long haired man had sniffed him a couple of times. He knows for certain he didn't smell like BO, so it must've been the cologne he'd sprayed on earlier in the day. "Though I do wonder what all you've told him about me behind closed doors." He practically whispered into Johnny's ear. 

"They're called closed doors for a reason, Mann. Have fun trying to get anything outta me." 

"Oh, that's the easy part. I'll just ask PJ." He smirked, slowly retracting his arms from where they were wound around his partner's body. 

"That is _so_ not fair." 

"Later, partner. I really do hope you start healing soon."  
And right as he was turning away from the elder, his hand was suddenly grabbed, causing him to practically spring back toward him. "I'll visit again soon, John. Don't worry." 

And just like that, Johnny slowly and hesitantly released his hand until just their fingertips were touching. 

"Drive safe, Trev." Is all the other said before his hand dropped back down to the mattress and his captivating eyes were no longer focused on him. Oh, yeah. He'd forgotten all about PJ being in the room. 

Since he really did have to go now, and Johnny was focused on his brother anyway, he decided to begin heading out of the room. If he turned to glance back at Johnny every other step, well, nobody mentioned it. "Take care, PJ. Also, if Konnan sees you anytime soon, this didn't happen, and I was never in this room. Capiche?" 

PJ nodded slowly as the gears began to turn in his head. "Yeah, yeah. Totally. You were never here, and my brother totally didn't just hold your hand like it was his lifeline. I mean-" 

"Good, you understand perfectly. Because none of those things happened." Trevor patted the other's shoulder a couple of times as he exited the room. He somehow managed to hear one last word come out of PJ's mouth before he was completely out of earshot. 

"Right.." 

Then he was halfway down a long hallway, his uncles sitting in uncomfortable looking chairs to the right of him. They looked to be playing some sorta.. slap fight kinda game. Azteca had his hands resting beneath Rey's in mid air, and he looked to be tickling the palms of his hands that were face down for a moment before moving them out from under and slapping the top's of the older man's hands. 

"Az, how the _hell_ do you win every time?!" Rey exclaimed, still not having noticed his nephew's presence.

"I don't know, maybe it's because you suck at it?" Replied the younger of the two. Rey glared at his partner, turning his body to look elsewhere when he finally noticed Trevor, who was standing not three feet away, just watching the scene unfold before his eyes. 

"Did- did you have a good time in there?" Asked his older uncle.  
Trevor decided to ignore the little squabble his uncles had been in the middle of, and instead focused his attention on trying to remember what'd happened back in his partner's hospital room. They'd shared stories with each other about their childhood's, and teenage years, all experiences being very similar to one another's. Such as getting their wisdom teeth removed as well as all the embarrassing things they'd blurted out while completely drugged-out of their minds. 

"Yeah.. yeah, I did. We got to know each other a bit better. Or at all.. Turns out we have a lot more in common than I thought. I think we'll make a pretty good team." 

"You mean in the field, right?" Asked Azteca. 

"Yeah, of course that's what I meant. What- what did you think I was talking about?" He was now flushed a dark shade of red, eyes flittering all across the white hallway and not once meeting those of his uncle. 

"Oh, nothing. I just meant- I just wanted some clarification, y'know?"  
Before Trevor could ask his uncle to clarify some things for _him_ , his other uncle had already but in to try and get things under control.

"How about we stop asking our nephew personal questions in the middle of a hospital and instead go back home before Konnan actually kills us? Sound good, Az?" 

"Well when you say it like _that_ , it makes it sound like I'm a bad person." 

"I wouldn't say you're a great person after you cheated at cards, then **again** at the game we were just playing." Rey grumbled out. 

"For the millionth time, Rey, I wasn't cheating! You just suck at games and can't keep up with me." 

"Oh! I suck? You know what you _actually_ suck at-" 

Before his uncle's could continue their unexpected and completely out of character argument, Trevor quickly got in between them, placing a hand on each of their chests to keep them separated. "Break it up, guys! You two are partners! You're supposed to love each other, not act like toddlers and embarrass me in public." Azteca and Rey rolled their eyes in unison, though they did seem to listen to their nephew's words and backed away from each other to cool off. "Now hug it out. I'm tired and in desperate need of a 72-hour long nap." 

"I'm not touching him, he accused me of cheating at what was a fair and square game of go fish." Azteca mumbled, arms crossed in defiance. 

He sighed, turning to face his other stubborn uncle. "Rey, do you have something to say to your best friend and partner who you love dearly?" 

"That I'm not touching him either. He obviously cheated at the Hand Slap game _and_ go fish!"

"Let's just- can we please just leave already? I really don't want my dad to find out that you two snuck me outta the house to visit John." 

"Fine. But I call dibs on sitting in the back of the car. I just- I can't even look at him right now." Muttered Azteca. 

"Fine by me. Means I get to sit shotgun and lean the seat back all the way, maybe even get in a few minutes of shut-eye if I'm lucky." Replied Trevor. He was gonna get those two idiota's to kiss and make up before his father came home later in the evening. 

-

They had driven back to Konnan's house with Trevor sitting in the front seat with it reclined all the way, trying to sleep through his uncles bickering over the stupidest of things. After the long drive, he was ready to pass the fuck out on the comfy couch at his father's house. 

He'd been lying on the couch trying to sleep for approximately five minutes when the front door opened and closed loudly. He didn't have much time to wonder who that could've been before his father was dropping his bag by in the middle of the room and approaching his groggy form. 

"Dad?" He questioned, moving to sit up at the same time that his old-man gently pushed his shoulders back down against the couch. "What are you doing home so early? You've only been gone, like, what? Two hours?" 

"I couldn't stay focused at work knowing my little Trevy was at home suffering from an injury with his two idiotic uncles holed up together in their room, not feeding and taking care of you like they were supposed to!" 

"I'm fine, Dad. They came down after you left and I had some of the brownie I made."  
It wasn't a complete lie.. He was just bending the truth a little. I mean, his uncles _had_ came downstairs right after Konnan left, then they took him to the hospital where he shared an entire brownie with his friend. He just made sure to keep that last bit of information to himself. 

His father wore an incredulous expression, looking like he was ready to bust some heads. "You ate _what_ for breakfast?" He rubbed a hand across his face and did his little calm-down routine before he could face his son again. "Know what, baby? I'm gonna put on that- that _apron_ you were wearing earlier and I'm gonna make you a good ol' fashion meal that won't give you diabetes." 

"You mean beans and rice?" He asked from where he was buried beneath layers upon layers of fuzzy blankets. 

"What am I? A savage? No, you're getting bread too, mijo." His father hollered from the kitchen, the loud sound making his head spin. "Say, where are those two payasos who are _supposed_ to be taking care of you?" 

"Not sure, I've been, uh.. sleeping for a while.. But last I saw, they had a little argument and went back upstairs."

The sound of a stove burner being turned on could be heard from the couch, followed by a container full of rice being popped open and getting dumped onto a skillet to be fried for a couple of minutes to get rid of some of the excess flour on it. 

"Well they need to put their differences aside and take care of their nephew for five damn minutes! I was at work for just a little over an hour before I was putting someone else in charge and driving through traffic to get to my poor little baby. Shoulda known I couldn't have trusted them to keep you alive for one day." 

"Dad.. you didn't have to drive all the way home if you were busy at work. Rey and Azteca were handling things just f-" 

"Busy? I couldn't even look at my computer screen for two seconds without thinking about you! Thinking about what that gr- what happened to you yesterday. My little Trevy needs me." At that, his father turned the fire crackling on the stovetop as low as he could and strode across the room until the couch came into view. He kneeled beside it and found an opening beneath the gigantic pile of blankets to give his recovering son a hug and a kiss to the forehead. "Even if you're all grown up and don't need me, well, I'm getting older and I still need you, mijo. You're my baby, you're all I have left.. and you nearly-" he pressed a closed fist against his mouth to likely try and hold back tears he didn't feel like releasing so early in the afternoon. 

This time, Trevor crawled out from under his blanket pile and sat up against the couch without a hitch. "Dad, I could be thirty-five, perfectly healthy, married with kids, and I'd still need you in my life. You, Rey, Azteca, J- you guys are my family. I will **always** need and want you all in my life. Doesn't matter if its through thick or thin." 

His father looked about ready to break down crying, so he pulled him into another hug. Funny how he was the injured one, yet _he_ was the one comforting his old-man. Guess it makes sense though, if you take into account how many times the elder has broken down like this in front of his pride and joy. "I really hope you were under exaggerating that number, mijo. Thirty-five is much to young to be selling yourself into slavery- to be getting married, and I need time to think over how to get rid of whoever the unlucky son of a bitch is who tries to steal you from the nest." 

"Dad, I'm twenty-seven. You'll have eight years to prepare for the end of the world, alright?" He pulled out of the hug to look directly into his father's teary eyes, which were only partially concealed by his tinted eyeglasses that'd slid halfway down the bridge of his nose during their emotional exchange. 

"Ah, good. Means I'll have lots of time to prepare for his demise." 

"Dad, you're not gonna kill my future husband!" 

"Why shouldn't I? He's gonna steal you from the nest! Rob the cradle! Break my poor, crippled heart!"

"Maybe because that's just a tad bit illegal? Also, I moved out, like, a decade ago. So don't you go around using wacky terms like that." 

His father got to his feet, turning his backside to face his son as he retreated back over to the kitchen area. "Fine, I won't kill whoever it is you choose to marry. But that means Mundo's still on the market to get beheaded." 

"I- Um, you're not allowed to kill me friends either, Dad.." He scratched at his suddenly itchy neck, feeling a million different emotions at once. Mundo certainly (probably) wasn't gonna be his future husband, so Konnan technically wasn't allowed to kill him. But you never know. Things and people change just like the seasons, and it's just a matter of time before autumn rolls around. 

" _Friend?!_ If that gringo is your friend, then it's just a matter of time before he weasels his way into your pants, taking your crippled heart with him the next morning when he leaves you alone in a cold bed with nothing but a pillow to cuddle." 

"I thought you were being nice to John. Also, why are you now choosing to bring up my sex life and _him_ in the same sentence?" 

He glanced to the kitchen in time to see his old-man pause in his movements, setting down the onion he was cutting to wipe at his eyes and sniffle a couple of times before he continued. "Cause he's after you, mijo. And scum like him are only after one thing. Pretty sure we all know what that is." 

He sighed into the armrest of the couch, trying his best not to even _think_ of the possibility of giving in to his repressed desires and sleeping with his partner, only to be left and forgotten the next morning like it was nothing. Like _he's_ nothing. But he wouldn't do that, he has an ounce of self-control and a job to focus on. Plus, he didn't think Mundo the type to do such a thing to someone he supposedly cares about. 

"We're just friends and partner's, Dad. We're not sleeping together, so you don't have to go around worrying yourself and threatening people. Now will you _please_ just drop it already?" 

"Yes, but only because it's getting hard to talk over the tears these godforsaken onions are making me produce. Hope you like your beans extra salty, Trevy." 

"Dad, that's gross. It's one thing to cry into someone's food, but a whole other thing to tell them you did it. That's- that's the kinda stuff you really wanna keep to yourself."

"Fine, if you're gonna be all squeamish about it then I'll just give the cried on part of the food to your idiotic uncles." 

He decided that he'd had enough of _that_ conversation and crawled back under his mountain of blankets to try and fall back asleep. Though he isn't exactly sure if he was even asleep when his father came home. His eyes may've been closed, but his mind was still racing with thoughts of what'd occurred throughout his visit to see Johnny. 

They have so much in common, so many similar experiences in life that they never would've known had they not become partners. He knows for a fact that his father never would've let him actually become friends with him. Unless of course he'd went behind his back and never told him he was seeing the other man... Which doesn't sound like something he'd do. 

He decided to stay hidden under his warm mountain of blankets while his mind continued to run rampant with thoughts of his hospitalized partner until lunch time rolled around and his 'idiotic' uncles came down for some grub. He didn't have the heart to tell them his father had cried 'Mundo tears' into the onions in the beans, so he tried his best to conceal his laughter with a forearm as they complimented the chef's work. Telling Konnan how tasty the onions were on this particular occasion. 

Heh, he bet his father would do the same thing to Johnny. You know, feed him a cried on batch of beans without a seconds hesitation.


End file.
